It's time once again for our Athlete of the Week. That's where you get to vote for the top performer of the past week in high school sports.
We give you five athletes from the non-football fall sports —
cross country, volleyball, flag football, girls tennis, girls golf, boys water polo — to choose from and you vote for your favorite in the poll at the bottom of this article at desertsun.com.
Before we look at this week's honorees, let's see who you chose as last week's winner. You voted and you chose Xavier Prep volleyball standout Emma Thomsen. Thomsen was a key component in the Saints keeping their long league winning streak alive.
Parents or coaches can nominate a player for Athlete of the Week by e-mailing us at sports@desertsun.com. We love to get input from you. Just give us all info we need to know about the player and what they accomplished and we'll be happy to include them in our weekly voting.
Without further preamble, her are this week's candidates, leaning heavily toward cross country this week as many of our top teams competed in the same big event. Whichever athlete has the most votes at noon on Saturday will be declared the weekly winner. Happy voting.
Marina Avila, Palm Desert
What she did: The talented Palm Desert junior is back to maintain her spot as the top runner in the desert and she was the only desert girl to compete in the Sundown Showdown at the Asics Cool Breeze on Saturday meet which is reserved for the top runners. She finished three 3-mile course in 18 minutes, 4 seconds to finish 19th (out of 113) in the field.
Jonathan Hernandez, Indio cross country
What he did: Hernandez won the 16-team large schools race at the Asics Cool Breeze Invitational with a time of 15:18.8 which helped the Rajahs finish sixth as a team in Galway Downs on Saturday.
Kaden Rivera, La Quinta cross country
What he did: The La Quinta Blackhawks won the large schools meet at the Asics Cool Breeze Invitational led by third-place overall finisher Rivera. The senior finished the 3-mile course in 15:30.3, cementing himself as a contender in the DEL this year.
Daisy Ruiz, Cathedral City flag football
What she did: The Lions senior quarterback has led the way as Cathedral City has jumped out to a 4-2 start including a pair of wins over Desert Hot Springs. Ruiz has thrown for eight touchdowns and 530 yards and leads the team in rushing with 277 yards.
Arzek Salgado, Shadow Hills cross country
What he did: Salgado broke the school record with a blazing time of 15 minutes, 15.2 seconds on the 3-mile track during the Sundown Showdown at the Cool Breeze Invitational. He finished 15th overall and helped Shadow Hills finish fifth as a team in the elite showcase.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: The Athlete of the Week voting window is now open. Who is your pick?
