Hundreds, if not over a thousand, high school athletes in Central Illinois competed for the first time in the spring season last week with 10 of them earning nominations for CSM Spring Athletes of the Week after strong starts.
This week’s nominees include dual threats and big sluggers in baseball and softball, multi-event winners in track and field and a pair of standouts in girls soccer.
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UPDATE: Limestone's Kamar Sanders and Brimfield/Elmwood's Sawyer Drury won CSM Spring Athletes of the Week. Voting closed at 11:59 PM on Friday.
Boys Athlete of the Week nominees
Braden Arrenholz, Delvan baseball
Arrenholz kicked off his season in style, contributing at the plate and on the mound for the Panthers. He went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in his season debut along with five strikeouts in two innings in a 12-6 win over Clinton. He added a single, double and four RBIs to go with five scoreless innings and five K’s in a 9-1 win over Oregon, then went 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs in a 5-3 loss to Putnam County.
Kamar Sanders, Limestone boys track and field
Sanders proved his case as one of the best all-around track athletes in the area, winning in three different events at Galesburg’s Last Chance Meet. The Rockets senior won the 200 meters in 22.98 seconds, won the long jump with a mark of 7.04 meters and ran on Limestone’s 4x200 meter relay team that took gold in 1:32.39.
Owen Shissler, Dunlap baseball
Shissler still hasn’t had a down game yet for Dunlap, who began its season with two wins and a loss. The Eagles standout went a combined 4-9 at the plate with 10 RBIs, beginning with double and two runs driven in in a 6-4 loss to Joliet West. He and his team rebounded with bigger performances as he doubled, drove in four and had three strikeouts in 1.1 innings of relief in an 11-2 win over Normal U-High. He followed it up by knocking two hits, including a triple, and four RBIs in an 11-1 win over De Smet Jesuit (MO).
Darwin Herman, Elmwood/Brimfield boys track and field
Herman led Elmwood/Brimfield’s strong showing in the distance events at Galesburg’s Last Chance Meet. Herman won the 1600 meters in a personal-best time of 4:32.75 and helped the Trojans win the 4x800 relay in 4:27.88, an 11-second improvement from the unit’s previous time.
Hudson Lovell, Morton baseball
Lovell displayed unmatched power in the first week of the season, slugging three home runs over the course of six games. The Morton catcher hit a grand slam against Normal Community on Tuesday, homered and drove in two against Grissom (AL) on Friday and added a solo shot against Munford (TN) on Saturday. Lovell totaled eight RBIs and added two doubles and a triple during the week.
Girls Athlete of the Week nominees
Sawyer Drury, Brimfield/Elmwood softball
Drury tossed a perfect game in a 1-0 Brimfield/Elmwood victory over Knoxville on March 18, striking out a whopping 17 batters and driving in the game’s only run. She also threw 1.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen and earned the win in a 5-4 win over East Peoria on March 21 and went 3-for-5 with a double and nine strikeouts in the circle in a 17-10 win over Pekin on March 22.
Hannah West, Limestone girls soccer
West, Limestone’s goalkeeper, has preserved an immaculate 6-0 start for the Rockets and didn’t allow a goal in five games last week. Her clean sheet streak allowed Limestone to earn shutout victories over LaSalle-Peru, Olympia, Galesburg, Lincoln and Macomb, the last three of which were at the East Peoria Invite.
Hannah Safranek, Normal U-High girls track and field
Safranek had three top-2 finishes at the Clinton Last Chance Invite on March 22, led by a first-place run of 9.35 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. The Pioneers’ star also helped her team to a 4x200 meter relay title in 1:46.40 and finished second in the 60-meter dash in 7.92 seconds.
Maren Milton, Tri-Valley softball
Milton had several huge games at the plate for the Vikings, who started 2-0-1 last week. The slugging third baseman went 3-for-5 with three RBIs in a 12-12 tie at Olympia on March 17, falling a home run shy of hitting for the cycle and hit a grand slam in a 13-0 win over Argenta-Oreana on March 22. Milton added a hit and two RBIs in a 10-0 romp over Warrensburg-Latham on March 18.
Meg Uhren, Bloomington Central Catholic girls soccer
Uhren tallied three goals in three games for the Saints, including two of BCC’s scores in a 4-2 win over Metamora on March 20. Uhren had the Saints’ only goal in a 3-1 loss to Dunlap.
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