Vote now: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week
Editor’s note: We prohibit the use of bots and any other artificial methods of voting. Suspicious activity could lead to the disqualification of candidates and a permanent suspension of the Athlete of the Week poll. No voting by email: Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted.
Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) boys 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 Oct. 9-14.
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.
On to the nominees:
Chris Biller, De La Salle football: The senior lineman had six solo tackles, three sacks and three tackles for loss in an epic 33-27 overtime victory over San Ramon Valley, an outcome that stretched the Spartans’ 32-year unbeaten streak against NCS opponents to 266 (265-0-1).
Beau Blau, Alhambra football: Ran for 98 yards and five touchdowns and passed 240 yards and a TD in a wild 49-47 victory over Mt. Diablo to keep the Bulldogs atop the DAL Valley Division standings.
JD Coolican, Menlo-Atherton water polo: The junior scored four goals on five shots to lead the Bears to a 13-6 win over Sequoia in a PAL Bay Division match. M-A is 11-8 overall and 9-1 in the league.
Miles Dixon, Bishop O’Dowd football: The senior caught nine passes for 170 yards and five TDs and also forced a fumble on defense as O’Dowd rolled to a 57-20 victory on the road over Moreau Catholic in MVAL/WACC Foothill Division play. The Dragons improved to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in the league.
Shen Hernandez-Ong, Cupertino football: Ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns in 16 carries and passed for 74 yards and two TDs as the Pioneers defeated Jefferson 38-12 to improve to 4-0 in the PAL Lake Division.
Ryan McKendry, Liberty football: The senior caught eight passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns as the Lions, playing at home in Brentwood, edged Antioch 41-40 in a Bay Valley Athletic League game. Liberty is 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the league.
Javier Mendoza, Overfelt football: The junior running back ran for 196 yards and two touchdowns in 15 carries to lead the Royals to a 46-21 victory over Westmont in a BVAL Santa Teresa-Valley Division play. Overfelt is 4-3, 1-1.
Ivan Nisa, Aragon football: Ran for about 200 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead the Dons to a 36-20 victory over Milpitas in PAL Ocean Division play. Aragon improved to 6-1, 3-0.
Cooper Stern, Miramonte water polo: In a Diablo Athletic League match against rival Campolindo, Stern made five saves as the Mats prevailed 10-3 to improve to 4-0 in league play. “To hold a team of Campolindo’s caliber to three goals takes exceptional team defense,” Miramonte coach John Nash said.
Evan Usher, Woodside football: In his team’s crucial 35-15 victory over Fremont-Sunnyvale, the junior ran for 140 yards and two touchdowns in 21 carries. Woodside moved into a four-way tie for first place in the PAL El Camino Division.