This edition of CSM Winter Athletes of the Week covers the span of two weeks due to the few games/events held from Dec. 30-Jan. 5.
High school athletes around Central Illinois ended 2024 with a bang and began 2025 with a flourish. Dozens of athletes stood out over the last two weeks but 14 stood above the rest and earned a nomination for CSM Winter Athletes of the Weeks.
Nominees in basketball include 1,000-point scorers, new record-holders and all-tournament selections, some of whom led their squads to mid-season titles. Wrestling nominees rarely lost in multiple tournaments over the holidays as well.
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UPDATE: Normal Community's Rayna Powers and Morton's Alex McKie won CSM Winter Athletes of the Week after receiving the most votes in their polls. Voting closed at 12 PM on Thursday.
Girls Athlete of the Weeks nominees
Macy Gochanour, Fieldcrest girls basketball
Gochanour absolutely lit up the score sheet for Fieldcrest, scoring a career-high 46 points in a 69-56 HOIC win over Fisher on Dec. 23, and adding performances of 36 and 24 points in wins over Brimfield and Serena at the Peru St. Bede Lady Bruin Classic. With a 12-point game in a 49-37 win over Putnam County in the tournament semifinals, Gochanour reached 1,000 career points and she added a team-high 21 tallies in a 44-36 loss to St. Bede in the championship game on Dec. 28. She kept her red-hot play going with 18 points in a victory over Midland on Jan. 4.
Avery Tibbs, Washington girls basketball
Tibbs reached the 1,000 career point threshold halfway through her junior year and led the undefeated Panthers to a championship at the State Farm Holiday Classic. The prolific guard scored 75 points over the course of four games at the tournament, including a team-high 20 in a 44-40 win over Morton in the semifinals and 18 in a 61-43 victory over Normal Community in the championship game. She wasn’t done though, adding 10 points and 16 points in road wins over Ottawa and Mundelein Carmel over the weekend.
Cadence Duvall, Normal West girls wrestling
Duvall kept busy over her holiday break from school, winning the 235-pound bracket at the Naperville Central Invite and taking second at the Crimson Ladies Holiday Invite in Jacksonville. In Naperville, Duvall pinned her first two opponents from Leyden and Maple Park Kaneland before beating Maine South’s Sophia Fortis in a 2-0 decision for the championship to advance to 17-3 on the season. She pinned her first two opponents in Jacksonville before falling to Tolono Unity’s reigning state finisher Phoenix Molina in the championship.
Rayna Powers, Normal Community girls basketball
Powers lived up to her last name by propelling Normal Community to a second-place finish at the State Farm Holiday Classic and earning a spot on the all-tournament team. The Kentucky soccer commit scored over 11 points per game, led by a team-high 17 points in a 56-51 semifinals win over Chicago St. Ignatius on Dec. 28.
Londyn Sommerville, Richwoods girls basketball
Richwoods’ sophomore star at forward earned tournament MVP honors at the Manual Holiday Tournament, leading her team to a title there as well. Sommerville’s strong showing was capped off by a double-double of 22 points and 16 rebounds in a 60-55 win over East Peoria on Dec. 28.
Hannah West, Limestone girls basketball
West posted an impressive stretch of games at the Manual Holiday Tournament, where the Rockets went 2-2. West paced her team with 28 points in a 53-38 win over Pekin on Dec. 26 and added 16 in a loss to Manual later that day. Her best showing resulted in 33 points in a 64-61 win over Springfield Southeast and she added 25 in a loss to Lake Central (IN) to finish the tournament.
Alicia Swank, Bloomington girls wrestling
Swank placed in the top three of two tournaments over the holidays, taking home first place in the 155-pound bracket at the Ottawa Holiday Hootenanny and third place at Oswego East’s Aaron Dudley Memorial Invite. Swank pinned her first-round opponent in Ottawa before taking an 8-1 win over Kankakee’s Faith Joslin and a dominating 7-0 victory over Rock Falls’ Akira Schick in the title. At Oswego, she was pinned in the quarterfinals before climbing back up the ladder with three straight victories to place third.
Boys Athlete of the Weeks nominees
Matthew Zobrist, Metamora boys basketball
Zobrist drew rave reviews from many in the stands at Elmhurst York’s Jack Tosh Classic and for good reason. The senior grabbed all-tournament team honors with 116 points over the course of five games as the Redbirds finished third. His best performances included a 29-point outing in a 71-61 win over Rolling Meadows in the quarterfinals on Dec. 28 and a game of 24 points in a 70-67 win over Lake Zurich in the third-place game on Dec. 30. He added 17 in a victory over Chicago Morgan Park on Jan. 4 as Metamora won its 39th home game in a row.
Malachi Persinger, Peoria Christian boys basketball
Persinger reached a pair of significant milestones by becoming Peoria Christian’s all-time scoring and assist leader. He averaged over 15 points per game at the Macomb Western Holiday Tournament where the Chargers finished fourth and earned all-tournament honors as well. He broke the program record in an 18-point showing in against Rockridge in the semifinals on Dec. 28 and broke the assists record after dishing out seven of them in a 68-66 loss to Bloomington Central Catholic on Jan. 4.
Bowden Delaney, Tremont boys wrestling
Delaney kept his match win streak going at Decatur Unity Christian’s New Years Duals and at Abe’s Rumble in Springfield. Most recently, Delaney helped the Turks finish fifth in Decatur by winning all six of his matches with four coming via pins and two via technical falls. His efforts led the Turks to a first-place finish in the Copper Bracket at Abe’s Rumble, winning five bouts with pins and one via forfeit.
Alex McKie, Morton boys basketball
McKie was the X-factor for Morton, who won the Pekin Holiday Tournament for the first time in 30 years. He began the Potters’ run with 19 points in a 57-49 win over Plainfield South on Dec. 26, then replicated that total in a 63-44 quarterfinal win over Arlington Heights Hersey on Dec. 28. He tallied 10 points in a key 49-44 semifinal win over Chicago Mt. Carmel before dropping 22 in a 72-55 victory over Moline to take home the title.
Kobe Walker, Normal Community boys basketball
Walker was a dominant force in the paint for the Ironmen, who finished tied for fifth at the State Farm Holiday Classic, and earned all-tournament honors. The senior and Central Michigan commit led off the tournament with a team-high 15 points in a 58-25 romp over Joliet Central and added 20 in a 70-53 quarterfinal loss to Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin. His 18 points were crucial for Normal Community in its 50-38 win over Bradley-Bourbonnais to close out the tournament.
Noah Woods, Washington boys wrestling
A strong showing from Washington at The Clash in LaCrosse, Wisconsin and DeKalb’s Flavin Invite was powered by Woods, who went a combined 12-0 at the tournaments. He used his technique to win five of his six matches by way of decision at The Clash on Jan. 4 and 5 as the Panthers went 5-1 in duals and won the third-place bracket. Woods won four matches via decision and two via pins to go 6-for-6 at The Flavin, where Washington won the Gold Pool.
Cole DuBois, East Peoria boys basketball
DuBois electrified East Peoria with 33 points in a 71-66 overtime win over state-ranked Peoria High on Jan. 2, helping the Raiders win their 10th game of the season in style. He continued his strong play with 13 tallies in a 74-41 blowout win over Pontiac on Jan. 4 to give East Peoria its fifth win in a row and an 11-2 start heading into the second half of the season.
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