As the calendar flips to September it's time to bring back one of our high school sports staples and that is our Athlete of the Week poll.
That's where you the reader get to vote for the top athletic performance of the week from all the current fall sports except football. Football has it's own player of the week poll called Friday Night Hero.
But for the fall Athlete of the Week poll, we're talking about athletes from the other fall sports which are volleyball, flag football, cross country, girls' tennis, girls' golf and boys' water polo.
If you are a coach or parent of athletes in any of the sports, we love nominations. Let us know who is performing well and give us as many details as you can in an email to sports@desertsun.com. We'll do what
we can to include that person in a future Athlete of the Week poll.
You remember how it works. We give you five top athletes from the previous week's action and you vote for your favorite in the poll attached to the bottom of this article. Whoever has the most votes by noon on Saturday will be the weekly winner.
Without further ado, here are this week's five candidates listed in alphabetical order. Happy voting.
Ava Hyatt, Shadow Hills flag football
What she did: Hyatt, now a senior, is the do-everything player for the Knights and she's put that on display early as the team is off to a 6-1 start. Hyatt leads the team in receptions (36), touchdown receptions (6) and yards receiving per game (99) and shares the team lead in interceptions with three.
Lucy Johnson, Desert Christian Academy volleyball
What she did: Johnson lived up to her position as the team's middle blocker as the junior came up huge against their rivals from Temecula Prep. Johnson had a whopping 10 blocks in the match, but don't pigeon-hole here, she's a solid hitter, too.
Julia Sargent, La Quinta golf
What she did: Sargent, a freshman bursting on the desert golf scene, was the medalist at the Beaumont Tournament, shooting a 1-under 72 at the Tukwet Legends Course. She helped the Blackhawks, who are off to a 3-0 start, to a third-place finish in the event.
Emma Thomsen, Xavier Prep volleyball
What she did: Thomsen was the primary force in the Saints' gritty five-set win over Palm Desert to keep their league winning streak alive. Thomsen led the team with 16 kills and also added three aces, 10 digs and 20 service receives as the senior outside hitter did a little bit of everything in the win.
Chelsea Weiss, Palm Desert golf
What she did: Getting her junior off to a blazing start, Weiss fired an impressive 4-under 32 at Redlands Country Club to help the Aztecs to an early season win.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Who should be the first Athlete of the Week of 2026-27 sports season?
