State hardware-winning tennis teams, do-it-all football players and standouts from regional cross country races headlined last week's high school sports action as we move closer to the conclusion of many seasons.
10 athletes from around the area helped their teams either qualify for the playoffs, advance deeper into the postseason, and even take home one of the highest finishes in program history.
The following athletes are our nominees for CSM Fall Athletes of the Week, presented by Jake Weston State Farm, with information on their standout performances. There are polls for Boys Athlete of the Week and Girls Athlete of the Week.
UPDATE: Ben Gorsage of Washington boys cross country won CSM Boys Athlete of the Week with 32 percent of the vote total and Laney Snow of Normal U-High volleyball won CSM Girls Athlete of the Week with 53 percent of the vote total. Stay tuned for a story about our winners!
Boys nominees:
Gavin Camp, Normal West football
Camp entered the year mainly known as a star wide receiver for the Wildcats but he put showed his rushing prowess on Friday with 151 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 21 attempts to lead Normal West in its 40-24 win over Champaign Centennial. Camp has now rushed for at least one touchdown in six consecutive game and he also added three receptions for 41 yards and a score. The win helped the Wildcats secure a home playoff game in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.
Our picks for all local first-round playoff games: CSM Pick 'Em: Playoffs Round 1
Maxwell Kirby, Peoria Notre Dame boys cross country
Kirby finished third at the Class 1A Peoria Notre Dame Regional at Donovan Park, finishing the course in 16:43.00 as the first Irish runner to cross the line. His time was his fastest of his three races during the season at Donovan Park by over a minute. PND finished second as a team and will compete in the Elmwood Sectional on Saturday.
Nick Rhoades, Metamora football
Rhoades orchestrated a 26-21 win over Dunlap to keep the Redbirds’ win streak alive and at five in a row heading into the Class 5A playoffs. The senior quarterback notched a 100-yard game on the ground, finishing with 14 rushes for 113 yards and three total touchdowns, along with 106 passing yards. Rhoades ran for 15-yard and 70-yard scores in the second quarter to put Metamora up 14-7, then recovered a fumble from teammate Jaiduan Cranford in the red zone and ran it in for the winning score with 1:27 left in the game.
Thatcher Hogan, Peoria Notre Dame boys soccer
Hogan scored two goals each in both of Peoria Notre Dame’s wins in the Class 2A Bloomington Regional. The junior’s brace against Metamora helped the Irish move past the Redbirds 6-2 in the regional semifinal, then he was one of three PND players with two goals in a 7-0 victory over rival Richwoods for the regional championship.
Diving deep inside PND's boys soccer program: PND boys soccer finds success in tradition, consistency
Ben Gorsage, Washington boys cross country
The freshman standout for Washington took fourth in his first-ever high school postseason race at the Class 2A Metamora Regional on Saturday, clocking in with a time of 15:32.80. The time was a personal best for Gorsage and his high finish helped the Panthers win the regional title by 11 points over Morton.
Girls nominees
Morgan Coker, Pekin girls cross country
Pekin’s star freshman crossed the line in fifth at the highly-competitive Class 3A Plainfield Central Regional with a time of 18:27.66. Coker’s efforts helped the Dragons advance to sectionals as a team with a fourth place finish at the event.
Sophie Muir and Alassea Michel, Dunlap girls tennis
The Dunlap tennis duo made program history at the Class 1A State Championship last weekend in suburban Chicago, winning third place as a doubles team, which is the highest finish ever by an Eagles tennis team. Muir and Michel went 5-1 overall, winning three of their matches in straight sets and capping off their run with a come-from-behind 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 win in the third place match.
Anna Mayes and Kruthi Sudhir, Normal Community girls tennis
The Normal Community doubles team of Mayes and Sudhir took fourth in the Class 2A State Championship last weekend. The duo of Iron seniors cruised through their first three rounds before coming back to win 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 against a team from Lincolnshire Stevenson to advance to the championship quarterfinals and went 4-2 overall on the weekend.
Chloe Fabry, Brimfield volleyball
Fabry was a force last week for the Indians volleyball team in their final week of the regular season. Her headlining performance came in a three-set loss to North Fulton on Monday, where she stacked up a double-double of 21 digs and 15 kills, along with a block and an ace. She led Brimfield with team-highs in kills (8) and digs (6) against Annawan the following day and finished the week off with a team-high 10 kills in a sweep over Bushnell-Prairie City.
Laney Snow, Normal U-High volleyball
Snow came up big for the Pioneers in their 3-set win over fellow area power Metamora on Monday. The sophomore outside hitter keyed multiple U-High runs during the match and finished with 12 kills, 10 digs, two blocks and two assists. Notably, Snow also put up seven digs in a win over Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin on Tuesday and nine against Peoria Notre Damw on Thursday.
More on U-High volleyball: U-High, Metamora volleyball primed for deep postseason runs yet again after series split
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