The calendar has flipped to October and likewise, several high school athletes in Central Illinois flipped on a switch in some of their biggest games, tournaments and meets of the year so far.
The following athletes are our nominees for CSM Fall Athletes of the Week Presented by Dominos with polls below for CSM Boys Athlete of the Week and CSM Girls Athlete of the Week, with information on each of their strong performances below.
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Update: Illini Bluff's Cole McCoy and Bloomington Central Catholic's Charlie Glatz won CSM Fall Athletes of the Week. Polls closed at 7 P.M. on Thursday.
Boys Athlete of the Week nominees
Lane Wheelwright, Farmington football
Wheelwright turned in one of his best performances of the season so far, captaining the Farmington offense in a 40-0 win over rival Elmwood/Brimfield. He finished his night with 313 passing yards, 50 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown and five passing touchdowns. Three of those scores went to Jack Gronewold, one going to Jerett Fauser and the other going to Landon Crawford.
Parker McDermott, Normal West boys golf
It took 23 holes but McDermott became the Big 12 Conference champion on Sept. 24 with a 73 at Kellogg Golf Course. The Wildcats’ junior ace started his round with three consecutive birdies and a 35 on the front nine before turning in a 38 on the inward nine. He won a five-hole playoff over Richwoods’ Brock Brown for the individual title and helped Normal West finish in third.
Quinton Hynek, Peoria Christian boys soccer
Hynek has a history of helping his teammates on the soccer pitch and he became just the second known player in IHSA history to reach 100 career assists on Sept. 25. The Chargers’ senior recorded his 100th and 101st assists in a 3-1 win over Morton that night and added a goal and another assist in a 7-0 win over Springfield Lutheran on Sept. 27.
Fisher Rinkenberger, Washington boys cross country
Rinkenberger and the Panthers earned an invite to the Palatine Meet of Champions on Saturday and the Washington senior ran a personal-best 15:18.0 at the event to finish 20th. The meet featured over 200 boys varsity runners and Washington placed 19th out of 31 teams.
Cole McCoy, Illini Bluffs boys golf
McCoy had a big week on the links, winning the Inter-County Conference individual title with a 75 at Wee-Ma-Tuk Country Club in Canton. He beat out Illini Bluffs teammate Crew Fortin in a playoff for the honor and helped the Tigers finish third with a team score of 337. He also shot a nine-hole round of 40 as IB won a tri-meet over Midwest Central and LVC.
Girls Athlete of the Week nominees
Laney Snow, Normal U-High volleyball
Snow and the Pioneers came out of the gates hot in Intercity tournament games on Saturday, beating Normal Community and previously undefeated Normal West. Snow had eight kills and a pair of digs in the win over Normal West and led her team again with 12 kills and seven total blocks against the Iron.
Gillian Tyra, Metamora girls golf
Tyra had a strong week for the Redbirds, winning a match against Limestone on Sept. 25 with a 41 and following it up one day later with an 88 to finish second at the Mid-Illini Conference Tournament at Lick Creek. Tyra earned first team all-conference honors as well.
Brielle Hopkins, Morton girls cross country
Hopkins went sub-20 to win the East Peoria Invite on Sept. 27, running the course in 19:47.3 to take the victory by more than 18 seconds. Morton finished second at the event behind Champaign Central.
Charlie Glatz, Bloomington Central Catholic girls swim and dive
Glatz shone in the pool for the Saints in a quad meet at Urbana on Sept. 26, where BCC won several events. The senior won the 100 yard butterfly in 1:10.20 and the 100 yard breaststroke in 1:23.30 with both victories coming by at least four seconds. Glatz also swam later legs on BCC’s 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay that both took first place.
Sophia Musselman, Eureka volleyball
Musselman performed well for the Hornets as they took two big Heart of Illinois Conference wins over Tri-Valley and LeRoy to stay unbeaten in HOI play. Musselman led Eureka with 11 kills in a win over the Vikings on Tuesday and repeated that total along with seven digs against the Panthers on Thursday.
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