The Illinois high school sports season has gotten down to the nitty-gritty with just one and a half weeks left. Multiple Central Illinois prep stars shined their brightest at state championships and in other playoff games, earning nominations for CSM Spring Athletes of the Week, presented by Dominos.
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The following athletes are our nominees for CSM Spring Athletes of the Week, presented by Dominos, with information on their standout performances below. There are polls for CSM Boys Athlete of the Week and Girls Athlete of the Week.
UPDATE: Peoria Notre Dame's Jackson Campbell and Alli Stickelmaier won CSM Spring Athletes of the Week, presented by Dominos, after receiving the most votes in their respective polls. Voting closed at 8 PM on Thursday.
Boys Athlete of the Week nominees
Isaiah Whitaker, Bloomington Central Catholic boys track and field
Whitaker wowed at the IHSA State Meet on Saturday, winning the Class 1A pole vault and blowing out the competition. The BCC sophomore raised the bar multiple times, even after he was the only competitor left and finished with a height of 5.18 meters, breaking his own Class 1A state record that he set last year. Whitaker also ran on the Saints’ 4x400 meter relay team that finished fourth.
Jackson Campbell, Peoria Notre Dame baseball
Campbell helped give PND its first sectional title in 13 years, as the Irish beat Illini West 2-0 on Saturday. He drove in PND’s first run with an RBI single in the first, then added on an insurance RBI in the sixth on a fielder’s choice to set the final score.
Shaan Kashyap and Ethan McRaven, Dunlap boys tennis
Kashyap and McRaven led Dunlap to a state runner-up finish at the IHSA State Tournament over the weekend. The Eagles’ No. 1 duo won four of their first five matches in two sets before falling to Krish Khanna and Arjun Sawhney from Chicago University High in the state title match. Dunlap’s second-place finish as a team was its third top-three placement since 2017.
Brady Johnson, Washington baseball
Johnson propelled Washington to the Class 3A Morton Regional title, driving in a game-high four runs in the Panthers’ 7-5 regional championship win over Morton. He was also credited with the save in the game, recording the final out after giving up a hit in an abbreviated appearance. Johnson also walked and scored in Washington’s 7-1 regional semifinal win over Limestone on Wednesday.
Jonah Roper, Normal Community baseball
Roper provided another great outing on the mound for the Ironmen, leading them to a Class 4A regional championship at home in a 4-1 win over Rock Island. The Normal Community pitcher struck out nine and walked none in a complete game victory and stranded many of the eight Rocks that got base hits on the basepaths.
Girls Athlete of the Week nominees
Cora Ellison, Illini Bluffs softball
Ellison did it all for the Tigers in their Class 1A sectional championship win over Pleasant Hill on Saturday. The Illini Bluffs sophomore drove in Annabelle Fortin for the game’s only run on a walk-off single in the seventh inning and struck out 12 in the complete game shutout. Ellison was strong pitching in the Tigers’ 6-1 sectional semifinal win over Payson Seymour too, firing 10 strikeouts and no walks.
Nora Johnson, Metamora softball
Johnson rebounded for the Redbirds in Friday’s home regional title game, hitting a go-ahead two-run home run in the fourth inning after LaSalle-Peru took a two-run lead earlier in the frame. The Redbirds’ junior finished with seven strikeouts in the complete game. In Tuesday’s regional semifinal win over Kankakee, Johnson hit an RBI double and threw 13 strikeouts and no walks in a two-hitter.
Alli Stickelmaier, Peoria Notre Dame girls soccer
Stickelmaier’s goal in the Class 2A Washington Sectional title game lifted the Irish to their second consecutive super-sectional appearance. She scored on a header in the 32nd minute off a corner kick from Ellen Dahlquist as the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over Richwoods.
Bailey Herrick, Washington softball
Herrick got it done in multiple ways for the Panthers, who won the Class 3A Bloomington Regional with an 8-7 win over Lincoln. The senior smacked a two-run homer in the win and took the win pitching in four innings. She also came up big in a 5-2 regional semifinal win over Bloomington, going 2-for-3 with a home run at the plate and throwing a complete game with four strikeouts and three walks.
Annika Rosecrans, East Peoria softball
Rosecrans was another area softball player who impressed on both sides of the ball as her team won a regional championship. She went 3-for-3 with a team-high four RBIs, along with pitching a one-hitter in four innings with nine strikeouts as East Peoria beat Peoria High 17-0 in the regional semifinals. Rosecrans also drove in a run on a double in the Raiders’ 5-3 regional championship win over Limestone on Saturday.
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