Winners of The News Tribune’s Athletes of the Week (Sept. 5 to 10)
Voting is now closed for The News Tribune’s high school Athletes of the Week (Sept. 5 to 10). Thanks to everyone who voted and supported local student-athletes. This week’s winners are:
Blaze Herbert, Gig Harbor football
Caitlyn Riggs, Auburn Riverside soccer
Herbert piled up 132 rushing yards on 21 carries and added a 24-yard receiving touchdown in a win over Bonney Lake and Riggs recorded a hat-trick in a 9-0 win over Lakes on Tuesday and added two goals in a 7-1 win over Mount Rainier on Thursday.
You can read about all of the candidates and their accomplishments below.
Note: If you are not seeing the poll at the bottom of the story, try opening the story in a different browser, such as Chrome or Safari. To vote in the poll, you will need to enter “yes” into the field to validate you are a human. From there, proceed to cast your vote. There are two separate polls: one for football and one for other fall sports.
Want to nominate a high school athlete from the South Sound in the future? Email preps reporter Jon Manley at jon.manley@thenewstribune.com or send a direct message on Twitter (@manley_tnt) with the athlete’s first and last name, school, year, position and a stat line from game(s) during the past week. Nominations must be submitted by 5 p.m. Sunday.
FOOTBALL
Damian Aalona, Yelm, jr. — Completed 18-of-28 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Union.
Jackson Almond, Cascade Christian, jr. — Caught seven passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns and added nine tackles on defense in a win over Elma.
Danny Amaral, Spanaway Lake, sr. — Converted the game-winning 22-yard field goal in the third quarter in a win over Mount Si.
Jaycion Cain, Steilacoom, jr. — Piled up 216 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in a win over North Mason.
Lateibreon Chandler, Auburn, sr. — Caught 12 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns, and added an interception on defense in a win over Mercer Island.
Payton Faker, Kennedy Catholic, sr. — Lancers quarterback completed 15-of-28 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Highline.
Amari Goodfellow, Auburn, sr. — Completed 31-of-44 passes for 353 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Mercer Island.
Donte Grant, Puyallup, sr. — Completed his only passing attempt for an 80-yard touchdown and caught a 79-yard touchdown while adding eight tackles on defense in a win over Graham-Kapowsin.
Jaydus Green, Steilacoom, jr. — Caught eight passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns in a win over North Mason.
Mason Hayes, Kennedy Catholic, sr. — Caught five passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Highline.
Blaze Herbert, Gig Harbor, sr. — Piled up 132 rushing yards on 21 carries and added a 24-yard receiving touchdown in a win over Bonney Lake.
Gio Kafentzis, Emerald Ridge, jr. — Caught six passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Olympia.
Rocco Koch, Curtis, jr. — Vikings quarterback completed 14-of-24 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown, and added 104 rushing yards and another score on 20 carries in a loss to Sumner.
Payton Knowles, Peninsula, sr. — Seahawks quarterback completed 14-of-22 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown, and added a rushing score in a win over Kentwood.
Job Kralik, Eatonville, sr. — Completed 6-of-7 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns and added 10 carries for 90 yards and three scores and one catch for 46 yards in a win over Orting.
Will Landram, Gig Harbor, sr. — Completed 12-of-19 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns and added five carries for 37 yards and a score in a win over Bonney Lake.
Drew Macdonald, Steilacoom, soph. — Completed 17-of-22 passes for 261 yards and five touchdowns in a win over North Mason.
Jay Mentink, Sumner, sr. — Caught four passes for 67 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown, and added a 93-yard kickoff return for a score in a win over Curtis.
Sunny Nguyen, Timberline, soph. — Had three pass breakups, five tackles and two interceptions, including the game-sealing interception at the 1-yard line with seven seconds left in a win over Eastmont.
Brayden Platt, Yelm, jr. — Rushed for 88 yards and three touchdowns on six carries, caught three passes for 99 yards and another score and added six tackles on defense in a win over Union.
Zach Robertson, Fife, jr. — Rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown and on defense, had seven tackles in a win over Squalicum.
Cade Sando, Cascade Christian, sr. — Completed 13-of-15 passes for 358 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Elma.
Jake Schakel, Emerald Ridge, jr. — Completed 17-of-24 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Olympia.
Matthew Spurbeck, Sumner, jr. — Spartans running back finished with 21 carries for 143 yards and a touchdown, and caused a fumble on defense in a win over Curtis.
Jacob Velasco, Puyallup, sr. — Completed 9-of-13 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns, added four carries for 11 yards and another score, and added five tackles and an interception on defense in a win over Graham-Kapowsin.
Jace Villers, Auburn Riverside, sr. — Caught five passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to North Creek.
OTHER FALL SPORTS
Dallas Boler, Franklin Pierce tennis, sr. — Posted a 4-0 record on the week. Winning a doubles match against Steilacoom and singles matches against Enumclaw, Mount Tahoma and Lincoln.
Hailey Burris, Gig Harbor soccer, sr. — Had a goal and an assist in 4-0 win over Yelm to open 3A South Sound Conference play.
Danielle Brown, Puyallup volleyball, jr. — Had six kills and two blocks in 3-0 win over Olympia and 11 kills and five blocks in 3-0 win over Tahoma.
Cruize Corvin, Lakes cross country, sr. — Took first in the Olympia XC Invite on Saturday, clocking in at 9 minutes, 46.09 seconds.
Lexie DeGroot, Enumclaw volleyball, sr. — Led the team with six aces in 3-1 over Orting. Also had five kills.
Ella Ensign, Curtis volleyball, sr. — Leads the state in kills, per MaxPreps, early in the season. Had 13 kills in 3-0 win over Washington, 16 kills in 3-0 win over Silas and 18 kills in 3-0 win over Gig Harbor.
Anna Harvey, South Kitsap volleyball, sr. — Had 13 kills in 3-0 win over Olympic and 11 kills in 3-1 loss to Skyview.
Camryn Kelly, Gig Harbor volleyball, sr. — Had 22 kills on 47 attempts and 10 blocks during games against Bainbridge and Curtis.
Annika Klein, Yelm volleyball, sr. — Tornados’ libero led the team in both aces and digs in the first week of the season, helping Yelm to a 4-1 start.
Caitlyn Riggs, Auburn Riverside soccer, soph. — Missed much of 2021 with injury but has come out flying this year, recording a hat-trick in 9-0 win over Lakes on Tuesday and added two goals in 7-1 win over Mount Rainier on Thursday.
Jasmine Terry, Rogers volleyball, fr. — Racked up 19 kills in 3-1 win over Spanaway Lake.
Zander Trevino, Lakes cross country, sr. — Took third at the Olympia XC Invite on Saturday with a time of 10:17.74.
Ivy Vindivich, Puyallup volleyball, sr. — Racked up 16 kills in 3-0 win over Olympia and 12 kills in 3-0 win over Tahoma.
Grace Wesenberg, Emerald Ridge volleyball, jr. — Jags’ outside hitter racked up 11 kills in 3-0 win over Kentwood and 17 kills in 3-0 win over Tahoma.
Alison Whalen, Bellarmine cross country, jr. — Took third in the 23rd Bellarmine Invite on Saturday with a time of 11 minutes, 45.7 seconds.
This story was originally published September 12, 2022 at 10:40 AM.
