Vote: Who should be SBLive's Texas High School Athlete of the Week? (3/18/2024)

We gathered the week's top performers across in-season sports. Now, we want to hear from you.
Vote: Who should be SBLive's Texas High School Athlete of the Week? (3/18/2024)
Vote: Who should be SBLive's Texas High School Athlete of the Week? (3/18/2024) /

Who was the top high school athlete in Texas last week?

Throughout the year, SBLive takes a look at the top high school athletes across the Lone Star State each week, gathering the top performers and putting the best of the best up for reader vote.

Here are SBLive's Texas Athlete of the Week nominees for March 11-16. Now, we want to hear from you. Scroll down to read about this week's nominees and cast your vote in the poll below. Voting closes Sunday, March 24 at 11:59 p.m. central time.

Congratulations to Hutto's Jacob Bell for winning SBLive's Texas Athlete of the Week poll for March 4-9. He received more than 62 percent of the more than 20,700 votes cast.

Do you know of a performance worthy of recognition we may have missed? Let us know who we missed. Drop a note to andy@scorebooklive.com or @SBLiveTX on Twitter and Instagram and back it up with stats.

TEXAS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK NOMINEES

Leila Bajenaru, Arlington Lamar softball

The freshman hit a walk-off grand slam to help lift the Lady Vikings to an 11-10 win over Grand Prairie on Tuesday.

Gisela Boitmann, Lucas Lovejoy softball

The southpaw struck out 13 and gave up two hits in a complete-game effort on Tuesday, helping the Leopards beat Sherman, 6-1.

Blaine Bullard, Klein Cain baseball

In a 14-4 win over Tomball Memorial on Friday, the Texas A&M pledge had a solo home run, a triple and two sacrifice flies for the Hurricanes.

Michael Catalano, Frisco baseball

The Oklahoma signee was perfect on Friday for the Raccoons. He struck out 20 of the 21 batters he faced in a 3-0 win over Carrollton R.L. Turner. He also added to his cause with an RBI hit in the first inning.

Reece Garcia, Palestine boys soccer

The sophomore tallied a hat trick in a 6-3 win over Crockett on Tuesday. It was the sixth time he had three or more goals in a game this season for the Wildcats. He added two goals in a 2-1 win over Jacksonville on Thursday.

Shayla Gonzalez, Mansfield Legacy softball

The sophomore had a pair of home runs and 5 RBIs in a 15-0 win over DeSoto on Tuesday. The second baseman also had a solo home run on Wednesday against Waxahachie.

Kevin Hernandez, El Paso Bowie boys soccer

The senior recorded his sixth hat trick of the season with three goals in a 6-0 win over El Paso Irvin on Tuesday.

Luke Holt, New Braunfels baseball

The Unicorns topped Cibolo Steele, 4-0, on Tuesday. The Cisco College pledge had a pair of doubles and drove in one run. On the mound, the right-hander struck out 9 over six innings and didn’t allow a run. The next day, he had 2 hits and drove in two runs in an 8-4 win in another game against Steele.

Mazey Holt, Corpus Christi London girls soccer

The freshman scored a career-high 5 goals in a 10-0 win over Kingsville King in a game on Tuesday.

Kolby McBee, Waco Midway baseball

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor signee tossed a complete-game shutout on Friday against Harker Heights. The right-hander fanned 9 and gave up three hits.

Konnar McClendon, Canadian girls track and field

The junior swept the distance events at the St. Patrick’s Day Relay Invitational on Saturday in Shamrock — winning the 1,600-meter (5:32) and the 3,200-meter (11:45.50) events.

Grace Ann McDonald, Whitehouse softball

The Northwestern State signee hit a pair of home runs and drove in four runs in a 14-4 win over Longview Pine Tree on Tuesday.

Brookelynn Meador, Corpus Christi Calallen softball

In Tuesday’s 13-2 win over La Joya, she had two home runs and drove in 5 runs. In a 10-0 win over Alice on Friday, she was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI and hit another home run.

Hector Millan, Katy Paetow baseball

In a 16-4 win over Katy Mayde Creek on Thursday, the junior hit an inside-the-park grand slam for the Panthers.

Travis Minard, Pearland Dawson baseball

The left-handed hurler, who is headed to Blinn College, tossed a 5-inning no-hitter in a 15-0 win over Alief Hastings on Thursday. He had 10 strikeouts in the win.

Santiago Osorio, El Paso Ysleta baseball

The left-handed throwing sophomore struck out 9 and gave up one hit and one run over 6 2/3 innings in a 10-1 win over El Paso Chapin on Tuesday

Ainsley Pemberton, Rockwall softball

The Penn signee struck out 11 in five innings and added a home run at the plate in the Yellowjackets’ 10-2 win over Royse City on Thursday.

Jayce Richardson, Santa Fe baseball

The junior had a two-out RBI single to provide the go-ahead hit for the Indians in a 4-3 win over Galveston Ball on Tuesday. He added two hits in a 4-3 loss to Ball on Friday.

Zariah Rodriguez, Lubbock Coronado softball

The senior had a walk-off triple to lift the Lady Mustangs to an 11-10 win over Lubbock on Tuesday. Rodriguez was 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs, which also included a home run and double.

Ryan Romolo, Grapevine Faith Christian baseball

The right-handed hurler struck out 11 over six innings, yielding one run on one hit in a win against Frisco Legacy Christian on Tuesday.

Mia Rubio, Laredo Alexander softball

The junior catcher was 2-for-4 with 3 RBI in a 4-3 win over Laredo LBJ on Friday. She added a hit and drove in three runs in a 4-0 win over Corpus Christi Ray on Saturday.

Oscar Salazar, Leander Rouse baseball

The Weatherford College pledge contributed on the mound and at the plate in a 14-0 win over Leander on Wednesday. He had two hits and 4 RBI, while giving up two hits and fanning nine over six innings.

Alex Sharma, Addison Greenhill School boys track and field

The junior picked up a pair of wins at the John Paul II Spring Break Meet on Saturday. He was first in the 100-meter dash (11.47) and the long jump (20 feet, 5 1/2 inches)

Dameon Smith, Marshall boys track and field

The junior earned three medals at the Running Rabbs Relay on Saturday in Atlanta. He won the 110-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles and was third in the triple jump.

Tomi Tanski, The Woodlands boys track and field

The freshman won his second first-place medal of his young career when he jumped 21 feet, 1 inch to win the long jump at the College Park Invitational on Friday.  

-- Cody Thorn | @sblivetx

Editor’s Note: Our Athlete of the Week features are intended to be fun and generate productive discussion. 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 who receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.


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Cody Thorn
CODY THORN

Cody Thorn is a veteran journalist who covers high school sports across the state of Texas and Missouri. He is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and has covered sports and news since 1999.