Vote: Who should be Iowa’s high school athlete of the week? (11/17/2024)

Here are the candidates for High School on SI’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for Nov. 11-17

Pella's Emmanuel Diers is nominated for athlete of the week in Iowa following his performance in the state football semifinals. / Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Here are the candidates for High School on SI’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for Nov. 11-17. Read through the nominees and cast your vote.

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Congratulations last week's winner: Isabelle Kremer of Pleasant Valley volleyball

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High School on SI voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You can vote as often as you wish and are encouraged to share our polls with others. The use of voting bots and other forms of automated voting are not allowed. Individuals will be removed from the poll if any form of automated voting can be verified. 

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees: 

Hayden Bailey, Waukee Northwest girls swimming

Bailey was the winner of both the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke at the state championships. She earned All-American consideration with her butterfly swim.

Brady Bixel, West Hancock football

Bixel made sure he and his fellow Eagle seniors would not be denied a fourth trip to the state finals, rushing for 240 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Madrid. On defense, Bixel had 8.5 tackles, with one for loss, and a forced fumble.

Emmanuel Diers, Pella football

Diers was Mr. Big Play in the semifinals vs. defending 4A champion Lewis Central, recording 175 yards rushing and 103 yards receiving on 19 touches. He scored three touchdowns, including an 81-yard run and a 68-yard reception. 

Drew Eilers, Gladbrook-Reinbeck football

The Rebels will play for their first 8-Man state title thanks to Eilers, who ran for 146 yards and scored four touchdowns vs. Lenox. He also had 99 yards passing in the win.

Nathan Feldmann, North Polk football

Feldmann put the Comets on his back, leading them to the state finals with four total touchdowns. He finished the semifinal game with 105 yards passing on 5 of 6 with three scores while rushing for 73 and a TD.

Tate Foertsch, Bishop Garrigan football

Foertsch led the Golden Bears back to the 8-Man state semifinals, coming up short vs. Remsen St. Mary’s. The junior accounted for 200 yards of total offense and two touchdowns while making 6.5 tackles on defense. 

Faith Franthum, Johnston girls swimming

Franthum locked up two state championships in the pool, winning the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle. She earned an All-American consideration in the 200 freestyle.

Gabe Funk, Lenox football

Funk gave it everything he had in a tough semifinal loss, rushing for 182 yards and three touchdowns while throwing for another 64. He also had 60 yards in kickoff returns and led the team with nine tackles. 

A.J. Harder, Tri-Center football

Harder threw for 286 yards with two touchdowns to Cael Witt, as Tri-Center reached the Class A finals with a win over Saint Ansgar. He completed 17 of 24 passes without an interception, adding 29 yards rushing. 

Grace Hoeper, Iowa City High girls swimming

A future Indiana University swimmer, Hoeper capped off an incredible prep career by winning the 50 and 100 freestyle events at state. She earned automatic All-American standard times in both events.

Caden Lundt, Spirit Lake football

Lundt went ahead and made sure there was no way the Indians would not be playing for a state title, completing 24 of 28 for 374 yards with four touchdowns. 

Judd Jirovsky, Grundy Center football

Jirovsky was nearly perfect in a semifinal round win, completing 17 of 18 for 170 yards with three touchdowns. He also had 49 yards rushing. 

Carter Kunze, Tri-Center football

On 29 carries, Kunze rushed for 195 yards and found the end zone inside the UNI-Dome four times, helping his team reach the state finals in Class A.

Korbin Michels, Saint Ansgar football

Michels rushed for 192 yards on 19 carries, finding the end zone once as the Saints fell in the state semifinals. 

Dylan Stecker, Spirit Lake football

Stecker was unstoppable vs. PCM, hauling in seven passes for 178 yards with three of those receptions going to the end zone.

Adrien Robbins, PCM football

Robbins did everything he could to try and lead the Mustangs back, rushing for 290 yards and two touchdowns in the semifinals.

Landon Waldschmitt, Remsen St. Mary’s football

Waldschmitt got the Hawks back into the 8-Man state championship game, rushing for 99 yards while throwing for 91 with three touchdowns in a win over defending champion Bishop Garrigan.

Preston Wicker, Madrid football

Wicker gave West Hancock everything they could handle, racking up 219 yards rushing and three touchdowns while throwing for 199 and another score.