Vote: Who should be SBLive's Minnesota Athlete of the Week? (11/21/2023)

Read through the candidates and cast your vote!

Here are the candidates for the Minnesota High School Athlete of the Week for Nov. 13-19.

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 Athletes of the Week

Will Steil, Rocori

The senior quarterback completed 11 of 13 passes for 73 yards and rushed 16 times for 67 yards and the lone touchdown in a shutout of Byron in a Class AAAA semifinal on Nov. 16. He also had seven tackles (two solo) and an interception on defense.

Beau Wiersma, Kingsland

The senior rushed 28 times for 299 yards and four touchdowns and had 14 total tackles (11 solo) on defense in a 36-28 win over Fertile-Beltrami in the 9-player semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium, Nov. 16. He’s third in the state in rushing yards (2,117) and leads the state with 38 rushing touchdowns.

Josh Lee, Centennial

The senior wide receiver accounted for 119 of 162 receiving yards on three catches, averaging almost 40 yards per catch and scoring one touchdown in a 20-13 victory over Lakeville South in a Class 6A semifinal on Nov. 16. 

Wyatt Moehrle, Eden Valley-Watkins

The junior was responsible for all but nine of his team’s receiving yards with four catches for 170 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-24 win over Cannon Falls in a Class AA semifinal, Nov. 17. 

Mason West, Edina

The sophomore quarterback completed eight of 13 pass attempts for 170 yards and tossed three touchdowns to three different receivers in a 28-7 rout of Eden Prairie in a Class 6A semifinal on Nov. 17. He’s sixth in Minnesota in both completions (171) and passing yards (2,380) and is tied for eighth in passing touchdowns (27).

Sam Pidde, Springfield

The senior had 10 tackles (four solo) and an interception on defense to go along with three catches for 39 yards on offense in a 36-12 dismantling of Mahnomen/Waubun in a Class A semifinal, Nov. 18. 

Ryan Meagher, Minneota

The junior carried the ball 16 times for 186 yards and four touchdowns in a 63-6 drubbing of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in a Class A semifinal on Nov. 18. He’s fourth in the state in both rushing yards (2,025) and rushing touchdowns (35).

Brayden Windschitl, Chanhassen

The senior quarterback tossed the winning touchdown pass in overtime and completed 14 of 24 pass attempts to seven different receivers for 225 yards and three touchdowns in a 54-46 win against Andover in a Class AAAAA semifinal, Nov. 18. He’s top-20 in the state in passing yards (1,811) and passing touchdowns (19). 

Nathan Thode, Hutchinson

The junior rushed 24 times for 171 yards and four touchdowns in a 56-28 rout of North Branch in a Class AAAA semifinal on Nov. 17. He’s top-25 in rushing yards (1,112) and rushing touchdowns (15). 

Luke Dobbs, St. Thomas Academy

Down 23-0 late in the second quarter, the senior caught a pass and scored a 48-yard touchdown to spark a 42-30 comeback win over Alexandria Area in a Class AAAAA semifinal, Nov. 17. He finished with six catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns. He’s top-10 in receiving touchdowns (12) and top-30 in receiving yards (761). 

Isaiah Wright, Fertile Beltrami

Wright ran for 184 yards and four touchdowns in a 36-28 loss to Kingsland in the 9-player semifinals on Thursday, November 16.

Charles Kern, St. Thomas Academy

Kern had seven solo tackles and one tackle assist in the Class 5A semifinal win against Alexandria. He also had a key interception in the game.

Cameron Begalle, Andover

Begalle was a key piece in Andover's OT thriller against Chanhassen. He finished with ten receptions for 113 yards and one touchdown. 

Dwight Kiffmeyer, Rocori

Kiffmeyer led Rocori with 2.5 sacks in their dominant defensive performance against Byron in the Class 4A semifinal.

Kobee Thielen, Dassel-Cokato

Thielen was all over for Dassel-Cokato's defense. He finished with 17 total tackles, two solos and 15 assists. Thielen also ran for 19 yards and one touchdown on offense.

Parker Wangen, Stewartville

Wangen caught five passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns in Stewartville's win over Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton in the Class 3A semifinal. 

Blake Schultz, East Grand Forks

The sophomore scored five goals in an 8-0 win over Detroit Lakes on Nov. 16, and had a hat trick and two assists in a 7-0 victory over Fort Frances (Ontario) the next day. Her eight goals are tied for third-most in Minnesota. 

Avery Engbrecht, Winona

The senior scored all four of her team’s goals in a 4-1 win over Rochester Century/John Marshall, Nov. 16. She also scored the only two goals in a shutout of the Hudson Raiders two days later. She’s tied for third in the state with eight goals scored.

Grace Zhan, Hill-Murray

The senior committed to Dartmouth College made 18 saves on 19 shots in a 3-1 win over Eden Prairie on Nov. 14. She played 34 minutes between the pipes, making nine saves, in a 7-0 shutout at Wayzata on Nov. 18. Her 0.40 goals against average ranks fifth in Minnesota, and her 0.974 save percentage ranks sixth.

Claire Bronson, Lakeville South

The senior goaltender stopped all 25 shots on goal in a 5-0 win at Eagan, Nov. 18, and she made all nine saves in a 4-0 shutout at Minneapolis two days prior. She’s atop the state with a perfect save percentage and goals against average. 

Olivia Hansen, Prior Lake

The senior goalie stopped 30 of 31 shots on goal over two games – a 10-0 victory over Visitation on Nov. 18 and a 4-1 win over New Prague on Nov. 14. She’s fourth in Minnesota in both save percentage (.983) and goals against average (0.33).

Ayla Puppe, Northfield

The senior had a goal and three assists in two victories last week – a 4-3 win over Rosemount, Nov. 14, and a 6-2 victory over Owatonna two days later. She’s tied for second in the state with seven assists on the young season.

Ilsa Lindaman, Duluth Marshall

The senior committed to the University of St. Thomas had four goals and four assists in an 11-1 drubbing of Northern Lakes on Nov. 14. She had a goal and two assists in a 5-0 shutout at Cloquet/Esko/Carlton two days later. Her 15 points are the most in Minnesota.

Zoe Lopez, Orono

The junior committed to Minnesota State-Mankato scored eight goals and added four assists over three victories last week. She scored four times and assisted on two other goals in an 11-0 win at Waconia, Nov. 18. She’s tied for second in the state with eight goals scored.

Bailey Rupp, Bemidji

The freshman forward had two goals and an assist in a 5-0 win at Thief River Falls on Nov. 16, and had a goal and two assists in a 4-0 victory over Sartell/Sauk Rapids. She leads all of Minnesota with nine goals scored.

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