Each week, The Record will nominate several high school athletes for the Martin Dentistry Athlete of the Week award.
The rest is up to you, the readers.
The Martin Dentistry Award recognizes top performances from 209-area schools — excluding boys football, which has its own poll. This week’s ballot highlights athletes who made their mark from Sept. 14-19.
Anyone can nominate an athlete of the week from any sport. Readers can email nominations to sports reporter Dylan Ackermann at dackermann@gannett.com. Please include the player's stats and a photo if possible.
The poll at the bottom of this page closes at noon Thursday, Sept. 24. There are no voting restrictions, so vote now and vote often.
Here are the Sept. 14-19 nominees (athletes listed in alphabetical
order by last name):
Emery Biedermann, girls water polo, St. Mary's
Put the ball in Emery Biedermann’s hands and chances are a scoring opportunity isn't far behind. The St. Mary’s junior dished out eight assists while adding one goal and six steals in a 22-3 win over Tracy on Sept. 17, continuing what she showed with 41 goals and 78 assists as a sophomore. Now four games into the season, Biedermann is a big reason the Rams rank among the top 10 in the state and top 20 in the nation.
Shane Bigelow, boys cross country, Tokay
First time racing the distance, first one across the finish line. Shane Bigelow made his 5,000-meter debut count, winning the SJAA No. 1 (Tokay, Franklin, McNair) at Lodi Lake on Sept. 17 with a personal-best 18:05.0. The Tokay sophomore tried another distance for the first time two days later, running a personal-best 12:25.0 in his first 2-mile race to place third among 104 runners in the Boys Sophomore Large race at the Frogtown XC Invite.
Anna Dittman, girls cross country, Sierra
Winning alone doesn't fully show how well Anna Dittman has been running. The Sierra junior took first in the 5,000 meters at the VOL League Meet No. 1 at Mistlin Sports Complex with a 19:18.36, despite running an 18:47.0 just a week earlier at the Kim Duyst Twilight Invitational and owning a personal best of 18:41.4 from last year. She wasn't done, placing third out of 115 runners in the 3-mile race at the Frogtown XC Invite at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds with a 19:11 on Sept. 19.
Eden Fry, flag football, Tracy
A blowout showed everything Eden Fry could do. A nail-biter showed just how much Tracy could lean on her. The junior had 55 receiving yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 39-0 win over crosstown rival Merrill West on Sept. 14, then put the Bulldogs on her back with 10 catches for 131 yards and their lone touchdown in a 7-6 win over Lodi on Sept. 16, adding three flag pulls.
Delicia Kivalu-ahio, girls volleyball, Sierra
Someone might want to check whether Delicia Kivalu-ahio turned the difficulty down last week. The Sierra junior outside and middle hitter opened with 16 kills and 16 digs in a 3-1 win over Oakdale on Sept. 14, then put up video-game numbers with 30 kills, four aces and 15 digs in a 3-1 win over River Islands two days later. Through 11 matches, Kivalu-ahio has yet to finish below 10 kills and has reached at least 15 six times.
Preslee Kofod, flag football, Lodi
Apparently one 60-yard punt-return touchdown wasn't enough for Preslee Kofod. The Lodi junior took one to the house in a 34-0 win over St. Mary’s on Sept. 14 while adding six solo flag pulls and a sack, then did it again two days later in a 7-6 loss to Tracy with another 60-yard return to go with four solo flag pulls, one assisted flag pull, a sack and an interception.
Evie Schipper, girls water polo, Lincoln
Goalkeeper or scorer? With Evie Schipper, Lincoln doesn't exactly have to choose. The senior faced a whopping 32 shots and turned away 21 of them in an 11-3 loss to Sierra on Sept. 17, showing why goalkeeper is one of the two positions next to her name. Utility is the other, and for good reason. Despite four straight losses before facing Sierra, Schipper scored seven of Lincoln's 13 goals during that stretch while also recording 39 saves.
Ayanna Turner, girls cross country, Edison
Forget the finishing place for a second. Ayanna Turner's times are telling the better story. After placing 51st at the Kim Duyst Twilight Invitational but running a personal-best 20:59.8 in the 5,000 meters, the Edison senior followed by winning the SJAA BC/Chavez/Edison Tri-Meet at Oak Park on Sept. 17 in 21:08. It marked the second victory of Turner's career and another step in the right direction.
Asha Virk, flag football, Tokay
Eight games into her varsity career, Asha Virk isn't showing many growing pains. The Tokay sophomore completed 22 of 33 passes for 226 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in a 25-7 win over Chavez on Sept. 14, then went 23-of-28 for 238 yards and four touchdowns in a 39-0 win over Stagg two days later. Virk has already piled up 1,287 passing yards and 19 touchdowns with just four interceptions while completing 72.3% of her passes.
VOTE HERE
This article originally appeared on The Record: Vote now for the SJ County Martin Dentistry AOTW for Sept. 14-19
