Vote now: Who should be SBLive’s Oklahoma high school athlete of the week?
By Ty Loftis
With state championship weekend in the books, it is time to take a look back at some of the memorable individual performances that made a difference in the outcome of who won the title.
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Oklahoma high school athlete of the week for May 8-14. Read through the nominees and cast your vote. Voting will conclude Sunday at 11:59 p.m. If you would like to nominate an athlete, email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com or tag us on Twitter.
This will be the final Athlete of the Week poll for the 2022-23 school year.
Nathan Murphy, Bixby baseball
The Spartans trailed early in the Class 6A title game before a three-run homer from Murphy shifted the momentum. That put Bixby up 4-2 and the Spartans went on to beat Enid, 16-6.
Declan Murphy, Midwest City Carl Albert baseball
In a 7-1 5A state championship win against Bishop Kelley, Murphy only allowed a single hit, which came in the seventh inning. He struck out seven.
Carsen Moore, Tuttle baseball
With Tuttle trailing 3-2 in the fifth inning of the 4A state title game, it was Moore coming up clutch for the Tigers. He delivered a two-run single to give Tuttle a 4-3 lead against Blanchard, which was the final score.
Mayson Thomas, Washington baseball
Leading Cascia Hall 7-5 in the top of the fifth inning of the Class 3A state championship, the nine-hole hitter in Thomas laced a ball to center field, scoring two runs. The Warriors went on to prevail, 10-7.
Josh Trout, Silo baseball
With the bases loaded and the game tied at 5 in the bottom of the seventh, it was Trout who delivered the game-winning hit to defeat Amber-Pocasset for the Class 2A title. On the day, the senior was 3-4 with two RBIs.
Hayden Pickering, Clinton boys soccer
Clinton won its third consecutive state championship over the weekend after a 2-1 win against Hilldale. Pickering scored the game-winning goal with nine minutes left in the match.
Sophie Wilson, Jenks girls soccer
The Lady Trojans won their 10th state title and first one since 2009. To do it, Jenks had to beat a nationally ranked Norman North squad. With three minutes remaining, it was Wilson who scored the game-winning goal.
Berkley Zahn, Holland Hall girls soccer
Leading 1-0, the Lady Dutch were forced to sit through a 90-minute rain delay in the second half against Woodward. It was Zahn who scored the early goal and they were able to hang on for the 4A state title win after re-taking the field.
Sebastian Salazar, Norman boys golf
After shooting a three-day score of 215 to win the Class 6A crown, Salazar helped lead his Norman team to win a team title. Norman finished six strokes in front of Stillwater.
Ryder Cowan, Oklahoma Christian School boys golf
OCS won the Class 4A crown by a single stroke over Heritage Hall. Cowan finished with a three day-total of 203, getting individual honors over Heritage Hall’s Ben Lathrop by two strokes.
Collin Bond, Community Christian School boys golf
Community Christian cruised to a Class 2A state golf championship, defeating Latta by 26 strokes. The top place finisher was Bond, who finished with a three-day total of 197. Each round was shot under-par.
Brett Keeling, Jenks boys tennis
With a 7-5, 6-0 victory in the championship match over Edmond North’s Reid Rainwater, Keeling became the 13th Oklahoma tennis player to win three state championships at No. 1 singles. His overall record was 83-0.
Braylon Thompson, Tulsa Union boys track
The Redhawks won their fourth state track and field title since 2008 over the weekend.
First-place finishes by Thompson in the 100 and 200-meter dashes and being a part of the winning 4 x 100 meter relay team helped lead Union to that title.
Emmanuella Njenje, Edmond Santa Fe girls track
Her team finished third in the Class 6A state track meet, but not due to a lack of trying from Njenje. She won gold medals in the 200 meter dash, 400 meter run, 4 x 100 meter relay and 4 x 200 meter relay.
Gwyneth Meyers, Bishop Kelley girls track
As a sophomore, Meyers won gold medals in both the 1,600-meter run and the 3,200-meter run. She also won team medals competing in the 4 x 800 meter relay and the 4 x 400 meter relay. Meyers set a new Class 5A state record in the 1,600-meter run.