Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) girls Athlete of the Week poll.
For the entire academic year, we will provide a list of candidates who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the winner.
This week, we consider performances from Jan. 19-24.
Polls close at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Vote as many times as you’d like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.
Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted.
Scroll to the bottom for the poll.
Winners are announced each Friday online and in the print edition of the Mercury News and East Bay Times sports sections.
Candidates for future Athlete of the Week polls can be nominated at highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com.
We accept nominations until 11 a.m. each Monday.
We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps by coaches/team statisticians.
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On to the nominees:
Sally Burns, Archbishop Mitty soccer: Burns scored a pair of goals as Mitty beat Valley Christian 3-0 in West Catholic Athletic League action.
Ariana Chacon, Dublin basketball: Chacon poured in 35 points as Dublin routed Monte Vista 64-40 in East Bay Athletic League play.
Abby Forsgren, Bishop O’Dowd soccer: The senior scored three goals in a win over Head-Royce and added an assist in a win over Piedmont. She has scored 18 goals and 14 assists this season in eight games and has at least one goal contribution in each game.
Makena Glynn, Half Moon Bay basketball: Glynn’s game-winning 3-pointer with 3.8 seconds to play gave Half Moon Bay the win as the Cougars beat Menlo-Atherton in a 51-49 thriller. She led all scorers with 20 points and had 10 in the fourth quarter.
Ava Hoehne, Leigh soccer: The sophomore goalkeeper recorded back-to-back shutouts as Leigh recorded 1-0 wins over Branham and Pioneer in Blossom Valley Athletic League play.
Eliana McBeth, Saratoga wrestling: McBeth had a successful week for Saratoga, defeating her 11th-grade opponent from MacDonald High 13-1 on Tuesday. At Cupertino HS on Thursday, the 105-pound wrestler pinned her male 120-pound opponent in the third period. This past weekend at the Lynbrook Ladies Challenge, McBeth earned first place in the field of 18 at 105. She was 4-0 with 4 pins and didn’t give up a takedown. McBeth has a 13-0 win streak in the last two weeks.
Caitlin Motil, St. Francis soccer: The senior defender got her name on the scoresheet with a direct free kick from the corner of the 18-yard box, giving St. Francis an insurance score as the Lancers beat Sacred Heart Cathedral 2-0. She also helped anchor St. Francis’ defense as the Lancers conceded no shots on goal.
Bianca Putanec, Menlo School soccer: Putanec, a senior goalie, posted three consecutive shutout wins last week, backstopping Menlo to clean sheets against Crystal (4-0), Sacred Heart Prep (1-0) and North Salinas (6-0).
Rhia Swaminathan, Santa Clara basketball: Swaminathan scored 16 points on 7 of 9 attempts from the field and added 18 rebounds and three blocks in Santa Clara’s game against Homestead. “Her growth this season has been remarkable,” Santa Clara coach DeeDee Kiyota said.
Kayla Topel, Berkeley soccer: Topel scored two goals in Berkeley’s comeback win over Alameda, equalizing right before the half and then drawing a penalty in the second half and converting the kick for the game-winner. She added a goal in the first three minutes to help Berkeley beat James Logan later in the week.
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