Winner of The News Tribune’s Girls Athlete of the Week (May 5 to 10)
Voting is now closed for The News Tribune’s Girls Athlete of the Week for contests played between May 5-10. Thanks to everyone who voted and supported local student-athletes.
This week’s winner is:
Vivien Sweet, Peninsula softball
The Seahawks sophomore threw three shutout innings (2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) in Friday’s 11-0 win over Fife and went 3-for-4 at the plate with a triple, two runs, and two RBI.
The poll is located below. You can read about all of the candidates and their accomplishments below.
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Want to nominate a South Sound high school athlete in the future? Email reporter Jon Manley (jon.manley@thenewstribune.com) or Tyler Wicke (twicke@thenewstribune.com) or send a direct message on Twitter/X (@manley_tnt or @WickeTyler) 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.
Eva Adriano, Federal Way softball — Senior threw four no-hit innings in Friday’s 12-0 win over Kent-Meridian, walking one and fanning four. At the plate, went 3-for-3 with a double, two runs, and two RBI.
Ava Bautista, Olympia softball — Senior right-hander threw three shutout innings in Tuesday’s 13-0 playoff win over Bethel to power Olympia to the district tournament. Bautista allowed one hit (no walks) with four strikeouts and went 1-for-2 with an RBI at the plate.
Ashlynn Carey, Capital softball — Cougars SS went 4-for-6 with three runs and five RBI in Wednesday’s 19-8 win over Mount Tahoma.
Makayla Downey, Steilacoom softball — Freshman drove in seven runs on four hits and threw five strong innings (2 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 8 K) in Tuesday’s 25-1 win over Clover Park.
Ella Enciso, Stadium softball — Freshman threw a complete-game shutout in Friday’s 19-0 win over Auburn, allowing two hits and one walk with eight strikeouts over five stellar frames. At the plate, went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, and two RBI.
Gabby Greenwood, Kentwood softball — Conquerors 1B finished a double shy of the cycle in Wednesday’s 16-1 win over Auburn, going 3-for-3 with a home run, walk, four runs, and four RBI.
Jayda Guadron, Emerald Ridge softball — Junior C/INF drove in both Emerald Ridge runs with an RBI double and sacrifice fly to outlast Graham-Kapowsin, 2-1, in Tuesday’s 4A semifinals.
Nevaeh Haagen, Timberline softball — Sophomore threw a complete game and earned the win in Monday’s 8-1 win over Gig Harbor (7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K) and went 4-for-4 at the plate with a home run and three RBI.
Alyssa Harris, Enumclaw softball — Senior threw a five-inning shutout in Monday’s 10-0 win over Kentlake, allowing two hits (no walks) with 12 strikeouts. At the plate, went 1-for-2 with a walk and RBI.
Mia Heigh, Auburn Mountainview softball — Senior catcher homered twice in Monday’s 16-12 win over Federal Way, going 3-for-4 with two runs and seven RBI.
Kalani Higa, Tahoma softball — Junior catcher homered in three straight games, all wins over Auburn Riverside, Kennedy Catholic, and Mount Rainier. Higa went a combined 6-for-9 with a double, walk, three homers and 10 RBI.
Ellie Hovde, North Thurston softball — Rams 2B homered in Monday’s 11-8 win over Capital and went 3-for-4 with two runs and four RBI.
Elliotte Kajita, White River softball — Senior pitcher went 4-for-5 with three runs and four RBI in Friday’s 16-2 win over Kentlake, adding a pair of strikeouts in the circle (2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K). In Monday’s win over Kent-Meridian, went 2-for-2 with two triples.
Leila Kennach, Franklin Pierce softball — Senior homered in consecutive wins over Washington and Orting, finishing a combined 5-for-9 with six runs and five RBI. In Tuesday’s 7-3 win over Washington, Kennach struck out 13 batters across a complete-game.
London Kim, Stadium softball — Tigers catcher hit a two-run home run and went 1-for-1 with two walks and three RBI in Friday’s 19-0 win over Auburn.
Sofia Mottern-Salinas, Kentwood softball — Leadoff catcher hit a grand slam and drove in seven runs to power the Conquerors over Kennedy Catholic on Friday, 20-7, going 4-for-5 with a home run, double, and three runs scored. In Wednesday’s win over Auburn, went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI.
Sierra Murray, Rogers softball — Standout freshman threw a one-hit complete game and earned the win in Thursday’s 4A SPSL championship over Emerald Ridge, surrendering one hit with three walks and 13 strikeouts. Murray’s 189 strikeouts lead the league and rank seventh in WA.
Jadyn Olson, White River softball — Senior threw a five-inning no-hitter and drove in five runs at the plate to carry White River over Kent-Meridian on Monday, 18-0. Olson walked two with five strikeouts (0 H) and finished 2-for-3 with a double and five RBI.
Hannah Potter, Auburn Riverside softball — Junior catcher homered in consecutive wins over Mount Rainier and Kentridge, finishing a combined 5-for-7 with two home runs and four RBI.
Alexa Ramirez, Tahoma softball — Sophomore right-hander threw 15 combined shutout innings in three wins last week, tallying 31 strikeouts to just one walk. At the plate, went a combined 5-for-10 with five RBI.
Vivien Sweet, Peninsula softball — Sophomore threw three shutout innings (2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) in Friday’s 11-0 win over Fife and went 3-for-4 at the plate with a triple, two runs, and two RBI.
Naomi Taylor, Thomas Jefferson softball — Raiders 3B hit an inside-the-park grand slam in Wednesday’s 18-0 win over Kent-Meridian.
Kiera Thomas, Puyallup softball — Senior right-hander threw a complete game and earned the win in Wednesday’s fourth-place game in the 4A SPSL tournament, quieting Yelm over seven strong innings (6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 11 K). At the plate, went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI.
Jozi Thompson, Kentridge softball — Sophomore threw a complete-game shutout and struck out 19 batters in Monday’s 3-0 win over Kentwood, allowing two hits and three walks over seven strong innings. On Wednesday, struck out 10 and allowed one earned run across seven frames in 7-2 win over Stadium.
Payton Walling, Rogers softball — The center fielder’s two-run home run carried the Rams offense over Emerald Ridge, 2-1, in Thursday’s 4A SPSL championship. Walling finished 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Alanna Wirtala, Emerald Ridge softball — Senior right-hander was excellent in Thursday’s 4A SPSL championship, notching a six-inning complete game with two earned runs and 10 strikeouts in a 2-1 loss to Rogers. In Tuesday’s semifinals, allowed one run with six strikeouts in a complete-game win over Graham-Kapowsin.
Frankie Wolfrom, Fife softball — Threw a complete game and earned the win (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K) over Cascade Christian on Monday, 7-1, and went 2-for-4 with three RBI at the plate.
This story was originally published May 12, 2025 at 12:00 PM.
