Vote: Who should be SBLive's Minnesota Athlete of the Week? (11/14/2023)

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 Nov 6-12.

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.

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Minnesota high school Athlete of the Week

Stella Swenson, Wayzata

The senior setter averaged 31 assists over three matches last week, setting up the Trojans for 3-0 victories against Edina, Anoka, and New Prague en route to the Class AAAA Championship at Xcel Energy Center, Nov. 11. She finished the season seventh in assists with 877.

Abigail Carr, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton

The senior outside hitter let her team in kills throughout the playoffs, spiking 21 of them and adding 15 digs in the Class A Championship, a 3-1 win over Mayer Lutheran. She had 30 kills, 20 digs, three aces and two blocks en route to the championship game. 

Kailani Schroeder, Byron

The junior setter led Byron to a third-place finish in Class AAA with 50 assists, 11 digs, three kills, three blocks and two aces in a 3-2 win over Detroit Lakes, Nov. 11. She had 34 assists and nine digs in a 3-0 loss to Delano, Nov. 10, and 24 assists in a 3-0 victory over Monticello two days prior. She finished the season fourth in Minnesota win 906 assists. 

Brooke Gillingham, Marshall

The sophomore setter had 39 assists and nine digs in a 3-0 victory over DeLaSalle on Nov. 8, 48 assists and seven digs in a 3-1 win against Detroit Lakes two days later, and 37 assists, six digs and three aces in a 3-0 win over Delano for the Class AAA Championship. 

Ella Kratochvil, Pequot Lakes

The senior scored 31 kills and dug 26 balls in a 3-2 win over Redwood Valley, Nov. 9. She had 20 digs and 16 kills in a 3-2 victory over Caledonia the next day, and in the Class AA Championship, she led her team to a 3-0 win with 20 kills, 11 digs, two aces and two blocks. 

Emerson Helget, Annandale

The junior had 58 assists, 12 digs and six aces in a 3-2 win over Wadena-Deer Creek on Nov. 10. The next day she had 52 assists, 10 digs and five aces in another 3-2 win over Redwood Valley to help Annandale finish third in Class AA.

Anya Schmidt, Rogers

The junior had 37 kills, 20 digs, six assists, four assists and two blocks to help Rogers beat Eagan 3-2 for third place in Class AAAA, Nov. 11. She had 36 kills in a 3-1 win over Minnetonka two days prior, and 44 kills in a 3-2 loss to Stillwater in the quarterfinals. She finished first in the state in aces (129), second in kills (566) and top-50 in digs (297).

Carmen Shimek, Anoka

The senior distributed 33 of Anoka’s 36 assists to six different teammates in a 3-0 win over Stillwater for third places in Class AAAA on Nov. 11. She had 55 assists and 25 digs in a 3-2 victory over Eagan in the Class AAA Quarterfinal three days prior.

Hannah Penke, Ely

The senior outside hitter had 22 digs and 17 kills in a 3-0 victory over West Central Area, Nov. 11, and 19 kills and 11 digs in a 3-1 win over Badger/Greenbush-Middle River the day before.

Grace Gunderson, Detroit Lakes

Gunderson had 23 kills in the Class 3A third place game. She also had 11 digs and three service Aces in the game. In the semifinals, Gunderson had 17 kills against Marshall. She was named to the Class 3A All-Tournament team.

Braya LaPlant, Grand Rapids

LaPlant had 99 assists in the three games of the state tournament. She was named to the Class 3A All-Tournament team.

Mackenzie Peters, Stillwater

Peters had 17 kills in an upset win over Rogers in the Class 4A quarterfinals. She also had eight kills and three solo blocks in the semifinal loss to New Prague. 

Savion Hart, St. Thomas Academy

The senior averaged 9.7 yards per carry on 28 attempts, going for 271 yards in a 46-28 win over Owatonna in a Class AAAAA quarterfinal on Nov. 11. He’s second in the state with 2,189 rushing yards and tied for second with 34 rushing touchdowns.

Bralyn Steffensmeier, Alexandria Area

The senior had eight catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-14 win over Rogers in a Class AAAAA quarterfinal, Nov. 11. 

Carter Carstens, Chanhassen

The junior had eight tackles (three solo), a sack and a fumble forced in a 28-22 victory over Mahtomedi to advance to a Class AAAAA semifinal game on Nov. 11. 

Connor Cade, Lakeville South

The junior carried the ball 14 times for 157 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 67 yards, one of which he took 58 yards for a touchdown that sparked a fourth-quarter comeback win over East Ridge to advance to the Class 6A semifinals. Lakeville South was down 12 points before the score and ultimately won 35-34.

Carter Olson, Springfield

The senior did a bit of everything in a 22-12 win over Fillmore Central in a Class A quarterfinal, Nov. 10. He had 10 catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions and two tackles on defense. He’s first in Minnesota with 18 touchdown catches, fourth in receptions (68), and eighth in receiving yards (977).

Jacob Ginskey, Owatonna

The senior quarterback completed 28 of 39 pass attempts for 423 yards and three touchdowns in a Class AAAA quarterfinal loss to St. Thomas Academy on Nov. 11. He’s tenth in the state with 158 completions. 

John Warpinksi, Edina

The senior rushed 37 times for 255 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-21 win over Stillwater in a Class 6A quarterfinal, Nov. 9. He’s fifth in Minnesota with 244 carries and eighth in yards (1,498).

Nathan Thode, Hutchinson

The junior averaged more than 10 yards per carry, rushing 23 times for 244 yards and four touchdowns in a 44-12 victory over Totino-Grace in a Class AAAA quarterfinal on Nov. 9. 

Kaaleem Reiland, Kingsland

The sophomore made plays all over the field in a 26-14 win over Hills-Beaver Creek in a 9-player quarterfinal, Nov. 9. He completed nine of 14 pass attempts for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed 11 times for 70 yards, leading Kingsland in rushing, and he had two interceptions and five solo tackles on defense. 

Tanner Stech, Mahnomen/Waubun

The sophomore scored all 18 points in a shutout of Parkers Prairie to advance his team to the Class A semifinals on Nov. 10. He had touchdown receptions of nine and 28 yards, kicked an extra point, converted a two-point attempt, and hit a 22-yard field goal. 

Gabe Aamot, Dassel-Cokato

The senior linebacker forced two fumbled in the 14-7 win over Minneapolis North in the Class 3A quarterfinals.

Eli Lewis, Nevis

Lewis threw two touchdown passes, both to Eli Klimek, in the 12-8 win over defending 9-player champion Mountain Iron-Buhl.

Jayden Daisy, Benilde-St. Margaret's

Daisy caught six passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns in the Red Knights 38-27 loss to North Branch in the Class 4A quarterfinals.

Kaleb Weikel, Andover

Weikel led the Huskies' defense with 10 total tackles, five of them solo, in a 37-20 win over Robbinsdale Armstrong. 

Gideon Breker, Robbinsdale Armstrong

Breker finished with four receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown for the Falcons in the Class 5A quarterfinals. 

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Jack Butler contributed to this article.