Bay Area News Group boys high school athlete of the week: Christian Preciado and Michael Castaneda

Because of a production error, the athlete of the week poll was not taken down Wednesday at 5 pm. So this week, the top two finishers in the boys and girls polls have been named athletes of the week.

Westmont baseball player Christian Preciado and Valley Christian baseball player Michael Castaneda are the Bay Area News Group’s boys high school athletes of the week for March 5-11.

Preciado, a junior, went 2 for 3 and knocked in the only run as Westmont defeated Moreau Catholic 1-0 in a non-league game. Also went 2 for 3 and scored the only run as the Campbell school edged Scotts Valley 1-0 in non-league play to improve to 4-1 this season.

Castaneda, a senior, pitched five scoreless innings to pick up the win as Valley Christian defeated Elk Grove 7-1 in a non-game game. Also went 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI, raising his batting average to .429. He improved to 3-0 this season with a 0.00 ERA over 16 innings.

Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.

To nominate an athlete for next week’s poll, email highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com by Monday, March 20, at 11 a.m. Please include stats and team results.

We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps.com by coaches/team statisticians for consideration.

Winners are announced each Friday on the Mercury News & East Bay Times websites and, starting Sept. 30, in the print edition of the Mercury News and EB Times sports sections.

Past winners

Feb. 26-March 4: Amani Johnson, Salesian basketball

Feb. 20-25: Parker Lunn, Mountain View soccer

Feb. 13-18: Daniel Schembri, Sequoia soccer

Feb. 6-11: Bryce Luna, St. Francis wrestling

Jan. 30-Feb. 4: Nathan Yousif, Silver Creek soccer

Jan. 23-28: Joseph Bangalan, Piedmont Hills basketball

Jan. 16-21: James Wong, Benicia basketball

Jan. 9-14: Tyler Suzuki, Leigh basketball

Jan. 2-7: Rudy Cruz, Hayward soccer

Dec. 12-17: Nicholas Ruiz, Benicia soccer

Dec. 5-10: Eli Roth, Acalanes soccer

Nov. 28-Dec. 3: Austin Shelton, San Ramon Valley football

Nov. 21-26: Jae’Von Reels, Bellarmine football

Nov. 14-19: Dashiell Weaver, Campolindo football

Nov. 7-12: Nate Bell, Liberty football

Oct. 31-Nov. 5: Angel Barraza, Dublin football

Oct. 24-29: Zachariah Norton, Hayward football

Oct. 17-22: Shane Timmons, Saratoga football

Oct 10-15: Owen Neitzel, Leigh water polo

Oct. 3-8: Salvador Espinoza, Lincoln-San Jose football

Sept. 26-Oct. 1: Antonio Arenas, El Camino football

Sept. 19-24: Nic Austen, College Park water polo

Sept. 12-17: John Ben Pau Mendoza, San Ramon Valley football

Sept. 5-10: Luke Baker, San Ramon Valley football

Aug. 28-Sept. 3: Luke Llabres, Willow Glen water polo

Aug. 22-27: Mikhail Popov, College Park water polo