The latest crop of nominees for Clutch Sports Media Winter Athletes of the Week all had dominating performances in common, with many of them leading to multiple wins and championships in some cases.
This week’s nominees include a trio of Class 2A studs in girls basketball, several wrestling title-winners, do-it-all guards in boys hoops and more.
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UPDATE: Manual's Nyanna Payton and Morton's Clay McKee won CSM Winter Athletes of the Week after receiving the most votes in their respective polls. Voting closed at 12 PM on Thursday.
Girls Athlete of the Week nominees
Ella Demler, Canton girls basketball
Demler had a star-studded week as she helped Canton go 3-0 last week with wins over Metamora, East Peoria and Class 1A No. 3 Abingdon-Avon. The Little Giants’ senior scored 13 in a 56-44 win over the Redbirds, then dropped 10 points, four rebounds and four assists in the 56-44 victory over East Peoria. She finished the week by scoring a game-high 17 points against Abingdon-Avon and made it a double-double by adding 10 assists, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
Lexi Baer, Peoria Notre Dame girls basketball
Baer led the Irish in a trio of games last week, especially in a 61-49 win over Dunlap on Dec. 12 where she had a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Earlier in the week, she tallied 18 points and eight rebounds in a 66-43 victory against Mahomet-Seymour. The PND junior capped off her week by scoring 10 in a 41-27 loss to Class 4A No. 10 Alton and earning all-shootout team honors at the Southern Illinois Classic.
Sydney Johnson, Richwoods girls wrestling
Johnson advanced her record to 8-1 on the season and won the 170-pound bracket at Pontiac’s “The Munch” Invitational. Johnson dominated on her way to the title match with three wins via pin and two of them took under 45 seconds. She defeated Batavia’s Emma Abbate with pin in the championship bout.
Nyanna Payton, Manual girls basketball
Payton put up a monster stretch of games for the Rams, who won all four of their games last week. The Manual forward started her week with 24 points and 12 rebounds against Champaign Centennial on Dec. 10, then had another double-double featuring 32 points in a 79-48 win over East Peoria the next night. A 14-point performance from Payton helped the Rams defeat Normal West 40-34 on Dec. 12 and she tallied another double-double with 18 points and 13 boards in a 75-13 blowout over Danville on Dec. 14.
Ava Heinz, Brimfield girls basketball
Heinz had multiple big games from Brimfield last week, starting with a dazzling performance of 30 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and four blocks in a 57-44 win over Mercer County that marked the Indians’ 1,000th win in program history. She added 10 rebounds and seven points in a 57-45 loss to Monmouth United on Dec. 11 but helped her team bounce back the next day with 20 points, eight rebounds and six rejections in a 54-27 win over Midwest Central/Delavan.
Boys Athlete of the Week nominees
Eddie Lorton, Fieldcrest boys basketball
Lorton earned tournament MVP honors at the Ken Colmone Classic, which Fieldcrest won for the second year in a row. The senior averaged 15 points per game over the course of four games with 15 points and 12 points in narrow pool play wins over Bureau Valley and Princeton. He broke out for 23 points against Eureka in the tournament semifinals on Dec. 13 and tallied 10 points in a 48-38 championship victory over LaSalle-Peru on Dec. 14.
Clay McKee, Morton boys wrestling
McKee was the 165-pound champion at Pontiac’s “The Munch” Invitational, helping the Potters take home the team title as well. He began his tournament with quick pins over opponents from Taylorville and Lincoln before winning via a 16-0 technical fall against his quarterfinal opponent from Springfield. It took McKee less than a minute to pin his semifinal and championship opponents and take home the title. His five wins resulted in a team-high 31.5 points for the Potters.
Matthew Zobrist, Metamora boys basketball
Zobrist was a one-man wrecking crew for Metamora last week as the Class 3A No. 9 Redbirds beat Washington, Morton and Normal U-High. The Bradley commit led his team in scoring all three games, putting up 16 against Washington, 24 in a 52-46 win over the Class 3A No. 10 Potters, and 28 in a 59-48 win over the Pioneers.
Cohen Alstat, Eureka boys basketball
Alstat was one of the brightest area stars at the Colmone Classic, putting up a string of big games as Eureka finished fourth. He was consistently in double figures, scoring 20 in a 62-46 win over Peru St. Bede repeated that total in a 58-52 win over Spring Valley Hall. Alstat added a team-high 19 points and four assists in a 57-50 loss to Fieldcrest on Dec. 13 and 12 points in a 60-53 defeat to Rock Falls in the third-place game.
Josh Hoffer, Washington boys wrestling
Hoffer was one of multiple dominant Panthers at the Washington Holiday Invitational, winning the title at 215 pounds and moving to 17-3 on the season. The junior took down opponents from Tolono Unity, Belleville East and Chicago Mt. Carmel all via pins to reach the title match, where he beat Elmhurst IC Catholic’s Foley Calcogno in a 7-2 decision. Washington won the event by 12 points over Chicago Mt. Carmel.
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