Vote: Who should be SBLive's Minnesota High School Athlete of the Week? (10/3/2023)

Read through the candidates and cast your vote

Here are the candidates for SBLive's Minnesota High School Athlete of the Week as nominated by coaches, fans and readers.

Read through the nominees and cast your vote. Voting will conclude Sunday at 11:59 p.m. and the winner will be announced Monday.

If you would like to make a nomination in a future week, please email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com with “MNHSAW Nomination” in the subject line.

Editor’s Note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes that receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.

Vote: Who is the top libero in Minnesota high school volleyball?

Vote: Who should be SBLive's Minnesota high school football team of the week? (10/2/2023)

Minnesota high school football computer rankings (10/2/2023)

Sam Perez, St. Charles

The junior forward had back-to-back hat tricks last week, with three goals and an assist in a 4-1 win over Winona Cotter on Sept. 28, and all three goals in a shutout at Minnehaha Academy two days later. She’s tied for sixth in the state with 27 goals scored.

Berit Parten, Minnehaha Academy

The senior committed to the University of Iowa played a part in all eight goals scored in an 8-6 win at Holy Family, Sept. 26. She added an insurance goal in a 2-0 win over St. Paul Academy, Sept. 28. She’s third in Minnesota with 29 goals.

Eli Hamberger, Watertown-Mayer

The senior goalkeeper had 14 saves on 15 shots faced to earn a 1-1 draw with Jordan on Sept. 25, and another 11 saves in 1-0 shutout at Spectrum the next day. He leads the state with 187 saves.

Jonathan Banegas, Worthington

The senior forward had three goals and two assists in an 8-0 win over Waseca, Sept. 28, and assisted on four of five goals in a shutout at Mankato East, Sept. 30. He leads all of Minnesota with 26 assists and is tied for seventh with 21 goals scored. 

Marlon Seahorn Jr., Bloomington Kennedy

The sophomore had a hat trick in an 8-0 rout at Brooklyn Center on Sept. 28 and followed that up two days later with another three goals and an assist in a 4-0 win over Burnsville. It propelled him to a fourth-place tie for goals in the state with 22.

Sonja Laaksonen, Holy Family

The junior committed to Western Kentucky had 28 kills, 21 digs and three digs in a 3-2 win at Norwood Young America, Sept. 25. She followed that up with 34 kills in a 3-2 victory at Mound Westonka the next day, and 22 kills in a draw at Hudson, Sept. 28. She’s second in Minnesota with 300 kills. 

Kyla Hellickson, Fillmore Central

The libero had 25 digs in a 3-1 win at La Crescent-Hokah on Sept. 26 and another 19 digs in a 3-0 victory over Stewartville on Sept. 28. She’s second in the state with 300 digs.

Izabelle Keaveny, Mayer Lutheran

The sophomore had 27 assists in a 3-0 win at Bethlehem Academy, Sept. 26, and 29 assists in another 3-0 win over Lester Prairie, Sept. 28. Her 482 assists rank fourth in Minnesota.

Else Kunze-Hoeg, Mounds Park Academy

The senior setter had 30 assists, 16 digs and eight aces in a 3-2 win over St. Agnes on Sept. 30, and 22 assists, 19 digs, 10 kills and five assists in a 3-0 victory over Blake, Sept. 27. She leads the state with 78 service aces. 

Alice Steman, Cambridge-Isanti

The senior logged 19 blocks over five matches played on Sept. 30. The performance propelled her into first in Minnesota with 61 blocks. 

Elliott Viland, Bethlehem Academy

The senior quarterback completed 23 of 35 pass attempts for 297 yards and five touchdowns in a 38-34 win at Goodhue, Sept. 29. He’s second in the state with 1,276 passing yards and tied for fourth with 16 touchdowns. 

Trillion Sorrell, Edina

The junior caught five passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-26 win at Prior Lake, Sept. 29. He kicked off the scoring with an 86-yard touchdown and hauled in a 32-yard touchdown that sent the Hornets into halftime down just three points. 

Bryce Peterson, Delano

The junior quarterback completed 23 of 26 passes for 304 yards and six touchdowns in a 52-23 drubbing of Providence Academy on Sept. 30. He’s eighth in Minnesota with 1,094 passing yards. 

Owen Denstad, Caledonia

The senior rushed 22 times for 187 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-13 win at Dover-Eyota, Sept. 29. He also forced a fumble and had five tackles on defense. 

Charles Langama, Maple Grove

The junior running back had 26 carries for 328 yards and seven touchdowns in a 55-21 win at Blaine on Sept. 30. He’s tied for fourth in the state with 16 rushing touchdowns and is third in rushing yards (1,001).

Dillon Smith, Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda

The junior caught six passes, five of which scored points, in a 53-14 win over Nicollet, Sept. 30. He had three touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions. He also had five total tackles (four solo) and carried the ball seven times for 72 yards, finishing with 213 scrimmage yards.

Nirvaan Yogarajah, Benilde-St. Margaret’s

The senior quarterback completed 21 of 27 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-14 win over St. Paul Academy/Minnehaha Academy/Blake on Sept. 30. He also ran four times for 41 yards. He’s second in the state with a 71.3 percent completion rate (min. 90 attempts). 

Miskir Esayas, Park of Cottage Grove

The junior completed 16 of 19 pass attempts for 241 yards and three touchdowns in a 48-14 rout of Hopkins, Sept. 30. He also rushed 11 times for 72 yards and two touchdowns. 

Anthony Starks II, DeLaSalle

The junior quarterback had 19 completions on 24 attempts for 214 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-13 win over St. Anthony on Sept. 29. He’s third in Minnesota in completion percentage amongst quarterbacks with at least 90 attempts. 

Ayden Helder, Stewartville

The senior quarterback completed 13 of his 19 passes for 201 yards and six touchdowns in a 63-0 rout of Lake City, Sept. 29. His 72.2 percent completion rate is best in the state (min. 90 attempts) and his 20 touchdowns ranks second. 

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