Fall is officially in the air and even though the leaves haven’t fallen yet, some personal records did this past week for high school athletes in Central Illinois.
The first week of September also saw eye-popping rushing performances in football, multiple victories for tennis players and swimmers, stat sheets stuffed in volleyball and much more, leading to another deserving crop of nominees for CSM Fall Athletes of the Week Presented by Dominos.
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Update: Matthew Glenn of Elmwood-Brimfield football and Katie Whitson of Dee-Mack volleyball won CSM Fall Athletes of the Week after earning the most votes in their respective polls. Voting concluded at 11:59 PM Wednesday.
Boys Athlete of the Week nominees
Matthew Glenn, Elmwood-Brimfield football
Glenn carried the load for Elmwood-Brimfield’s strong rushing attack in a 42-12 win over Illini West to move the Trojans to 2-0 on the season. The running back toted the ball 27 times for 225 yards and three touchdowns, bringing his season total to 336 yards and five scores.
Josh Walton, Peoria Christian boys soccer
Walton helped the Chargers continue a red-hot streak to start the season and the team’s second tournament championship in as many weeks. The Peoria Christian goalkeeper recorded his second and third straight shutouts in victories over Normal Calvary Christian on Tuesday and Mahomet-Seymour in the first game of the Urbana Invitational on Friday. He made three crucial saves in a penalty kick shootout against Springfield to decide the tournament’s title match and earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
Christian Harris, Morton boys cross country
Harris began his senior season with a bang by winning Galesburg’s Silver Streaks Invitational on Saturday with a clocking of 15:35.60, which was 23 seconds better than his time at the same race last year and a personal-best of his for a 3-mile course. The Potters won the event with five runners finishing in the top 14.
Detaurion Pollard, Peoria High football
Pollard’s rushing touchdown with 4:32 left in the fourth quarter was the difference-maker for the Lions as they survived a comeback attempt from Peoria Notre Dame in a 46-40 win. Pollard found the end zone four times and finished the game with 127 yards on 29 carries.
Dalton Buck, Washington boys soccer
Buck extended quite the streak last week by scoring in all four of Washington’s games where the Panthers went 3-0-1. The senior scored two goals in a 7-0 rivalry win over Metamora on Tuesday and matched that effort while adding an assist in a 4-3 win over East Moline United on Thursday. Over the weekend, he scored in a 2-2 draw against Holmen (WI) and had a goal and assist in a 6-0 victory over Arcadia (WI).
Girls Athlete of the Week nominees
Kampbell Niepagen, Bloomington Central Catholic volleyball
Niepagen helped BCC extend its season-opening win streak to seven with some massive performances over the weekend. The sophomore outside hitter went for 21 kills in a big three-set win over Quincy Notre Dame on Saturday, continuing her trend of coming up big in clutch situations. She also tallied 10 kills in a win over Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin on Saturday and added a combined 16 kills and four aces in wins over Heyworth and Decatur St. Teresa during the week.
Ava Peplowski, Metamora girls swimming
Peplowski’s performance in the pool helped Metamora narrowly win the Macomb Bomber Invite over runner-up Galesburg as the sophomore placed highly in four events. She won the 200-yard individual medley in 2:21.57 while also taking second in the 100-yard butterfly. Peplowski also swam on the Redbirds’ 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay teams that both placed first at the meet.
Anna Yu, Dunlap girls tennis
Yu, Dunlap’s No. 1 singles player, went undefeated in a big week for the Eagles, who won a tournament in Edwardsville. Yu won 6-0, 6-0 in Dunlap’s first matchup over Galesburg and 6-2, 6-0 over her opponent from O’Fallon. She gave the Eagles two points in their 6-3 championship match win over Winnetka (New Trier) by winning 6-3, 6-2 in singles and teaming up with Alassea Michel to win 8-5 at No. 1 doubles. Yu also won in straight sets in a conference match versus East Peoria on Tuesday.
Elizabeth Knowles, Canton girls golf
It was a good week for the Canton girls golf team and especially for Knowles, who helped the Little Giants post one of their lowest team scores in years against Knoxville with a career-best round of 42 on Thursday. Two days earlier, she fired a 43 to help Canton win a Mid-Illini tri-meet over Metamora and Washington.
Katie Whitson, Dee-Mack volleyball
Whitson was a big part of Dee-Mack’s impressive showing at the Peg Bryan Invite at Joliet Central, where the Chiefs won the tournament against much larger schools. Over the course of their three matches on Saturday, Whitson posted 53 assists and 19 digs while also supplying 20 assists in a victory over Heyworth on Thursday and 10 more helpers against Midwest Central on Tuesday.
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