Vote: Who should be SBLive's Minnesota Athlete of the Week? (10/31/2023)

Read through the candidates and cast your vote!

Here are the candidates for SBLive's Minnesota High School Athlete of the Week for the week of Oct. 23-29.

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.

Minnesota high school Athlete of the Week

Nirvaan Yogarajah, Benilde-St. Margaret’s

The senior quarterback completed 20 of 27 pass attempts for 316 yards and five touchdowns in a 65-0 drubbing at Minneapolis South, Oct. 28. He also ran three times, averaging 9.3 yards per attempt. He leads the state with 195 pass completions and 2,808 passing yards. 

Cael Olson, Delano

The senior rushed 29 times for 180 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-13 win at Mound Westonka on Oct. 28. His 254 carries are third-most in Minnesota, and he’s 11th in yards (1,301) and top-25 in rushing touchdowns (13).

Deontae Flemino, East Ridge

The senior wide receiver had seven catches for 136 yards and a touchdown in a 35-28 win at Anoka, Oct. 27. He also averaged 22 yards per kick return. He’s top-20 in the state with 740 receiving yards and top-15 in receptions (52).

Jett Feeney, Moorhead

The freshman quarterback completed 23 of 32 pass attempts for 282 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-0 shutout of Sartell on Oct. 24. His 163 completions are the fourth-most in Minnesota, his 28 passing touchdowns is tied for fourth in the state, and he’s sixth in passing yards (2,153). 

Sam Pidde, Springfield

On offense, the senior caught two balls for 87 yards and a touchdown. On defense, he had two interceptions and five tackles, leading his team to a 22-0 shutout of Martin County West, Oct. 24. His six interceptions are sixth-most in Minnesota.

Savion Hart, St. Thomas Academy

In a 47-14 rout of Two Rivers on Oct. 28, the senior running back carried the ball 25 times for 220 yards and three touchdowns. His 26 touchdowns are fifth-most in Minnesota, and his 1,780 yards rank second in the state.

Chris King, Mountain Iron-Buhl

The junior had eight total tackles (five solo), two sacks, a fumble forced and a fumble recovery in a 40-0 shutout of Cook County, Oct. 28. He’s tied for fifth in the state with nine sacks.

Elijah Johnson, Fairmont

In a 32-0 rout of Luverne on Oct. 28, the junior scored touchdowns on four of his six carries, going for 171 yards. His 19 rushing touchdowns are tied for seventh in the state.

Lincoln Urdahl, St. Anthony

Down 6-0 with 9:44 to go at Minneapolis Patrick Henry High School on Oct. 28, the junior returned a punt 50 yards for a touchdown to tie the game. With 3:52 remaining, he recovered and returned a fumble 31 yards for a 13-6 victory. 

Quieris Barnslater, Apple Valley

Barnslater was great in Apple Valley's loss to Bloomington Jefferson. He had eight receptions for 126 yards and one touchdown.

Nolan Ginskey, Owatonna

Ginskey had a great game through the air. He caught seven passes for 158 yards and one touchdown. The Huskies defeated John Marshall 33-7.

Kamden Kaiser, Northfield

Northfield needed every rushing yard from Kaiser in the 24-21 win over New Prague in the Class 5A, Section 1 semifinal. He finished with 21 rushes for 177 yards and two touchdowns.

Davontae White-Sledge, Patrick Henry

White-Sledge was a force on the ground with 17 attempts for 154 yards and one touchdown.

Charlie Renner, Hutchinson

Renner had four receptions and three of them came in the end zone. He finished with three touchdowns and 152 receiving yards.

Francis O'Malley, Montevideo

O'Malley was a workhorse for Montevideo. He rushed 40 times for 156 yards.

Grant Wohletz, Albany

Wohletz had 18 total tackles, 11 of them solo tackles, and he also had two sacks.

Maddy Benka, Minnehaha Academy

The senior outside hitter had 27 kills, three aces, three digs and two blocks in a 3-0 rout of Mounds Park Academy, Oct. 28. Her 487 kills are second-most in Minnesota. 

Alaina Panagiotopoulos, South St. Paul

The junior outside hitter had 28 digs, 26 kills, four assists, three blocks and two aces in a 3-1 win at Cretin-Derham Hall on Oct. 24. She’s fifth in the state with 418 kills and tied for sixth with 76 service aces. 

Peyton Hoffman, Climax/Fisher

The freshman scored 19 kills and six blocks in a 3-2 loss to Red Lake Falls, Oct. 23. Her 96 total blocks are tied for first in Minnesota, and her 64 solo blocks rank fourth. 

Mya Foslien, West Central Area

The junior outside hitter had 15 kills and 15 digs in a 1-0 win over Wheaton/Herman-Norcross on Oct. 25, and followed that up two days later with 20 kills and 16 digs in a 3-0 victory over Parkers Prairie. Her 413 kills rank sixth in the state. 

Carly Gilk, Champlin Park

The junior scored 40 kills over two matches – both wins – over Spring Lake Park and Maple Grove. She also had 18 digs over those two matches. She’s seventh in Minnesota with 410 kills.

Jacob Oliver, New Prague

The sophomore midfielder played a part in both goals scored in a 2-0 shutout of Duluth Marshall on Oct. 25. He scored one and assisted on another. His 29 goals scored ranks third in the state, and his 14 assists are tied for 12th overall.

Jacob Dinzeo, Hill-Murray

The senior scored twice and assisted on another goal in a 6-2 win over Mahtomedi, Oct. 24. 

Gianluca Jones, Woodbury

The senior forward scored a hat trick in a 6-0 victory over New Prague in a Class AAA quarterfinal match, Oct. 24. The Royals will face Wayzata in a Class AAA semifinal at U.S, Bank Stadium, Nov. 1.

Izzy Engle, Edina

The senior midfielder played a part in all four goals scored in a 4-2 win over St. Michael-Albertville in a Class AAA quarterfinal on Oct. 25. She had a hat trick and an assist to lift her into a third-place tie for goals scored in Minnesota with 37. Her 14 assists are tied for 19th-most. 

Haley Mau, Andover

The senior goalkeeper averaged a save for every 10 minutes played in a 100-minute marathon match against Eagan, Oct. 24. She had 10 saves on 11 shots faced, lifting her team to a 2-1 victory. Her 0.72 goals allowed average ranks sixth amongst goalkeepers with at least 1,200 minutes played. 

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Jack Butler contributed to this article.

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