Vote now: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week
Welcome back 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 between Feb. 14-20.
Polls close at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Vote as many times as you’d like until then.
Candidates for future Athlete of the Week polls can be nominated at highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com.
We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps by coaches/team statisticians.
On to the nominees:
Ryan Beasley, Dougherty Valley basketball: The junior was clutch down the stretch as top-seeded Dougherty Valley held off ninth-seeded Mt. Eden 52-48 in the quarterfinals of the North Coast Section Division I playoffs. Beasley scored his team’s final 10 points and finished with 27. He was 11 for 11 from the free-throw line, including 8 for 8 in the fourth quarter.
Dylan Chung, Northgate basketball: Led the fifth-seeded Broncos with 16 points as the Walnut Creek school went on the road and beat fourth-seeded Dublin 55-48 in the first round of the North Coast Section Open Division playoffs. The victory moved Northgate into the semifinals Wednesday night at top-seeded Campolindo.
Isaiah Cortez, Gilroy wrestling: The top-ranked wrestler in the state at 106 pounds, according to the California Wrestler, the freshman captured the Central Coast Section championship in the weight class by pinning his way through the tournament. In the final, he pinned Jayden Bautista of Fremont-Sunnyvale at 1 minute, 50 seconds. Gilroy claimed its 19th consecutive team title.
Timothy Cowan, Livermore wrestling: Ranked fifth in the state in the 160-pound weight division by the California Wrestler, Cowan finished first at the North Coast Section championships in the weight class with a 19-6 victory over Dublin’s Dakodah Hazen in the final.
Bobby Cuevas, De La Salle wrestling: Dedicated the North Coast Section championships to his program’s late coach, Mark Halvorson, who died a year ago, then won the 120-pound final with an escape in the final five seconds to edge Windsor’s Austin Fredrickson. De La Salle went on to win its seventh consecutive team title.
Ian Hutt, Branham soccer: Stretched to overtime in the first round of the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs, top-seeded Branham beat eighth-seeded Serra 3-1 when Hutt scored two of his three goals on the night after regulation. Last month, the senior scored four goals in a victory over Leland. Branham is 17-1-3 on the season.
Ryan Lykken, Palo Alto basketball: Made four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points as fifth-seeded Palo Alto advanced to the quarterfinals of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs with a 46-34 victory over Cupertino.
Emmer Nichols, Sacred Heart Prep basketball: In the first round of Central Coast Section Open Division pool play, the senior scored 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out four assists to lead second-seeded Sacred Heart Prep to a 63-43 victory over Bellarmine, which beat the Gators in December. SHP improved to 22-3 and stretched its winning streak to 11.
EJ Parco, Los Gatos wrestling: Helped the Wildcats finish second to perennial powerhouse Gilroy in the team standings at the Central Coast Section championships, beating Dante Lopez of Gilroy 4-2 in the 138-pound final.
Matthew Villanueva, Moreau Catholic basketball: In a tight North Coast Section Division I quarterfinal playoff game on the road in Brentwood, Villanueva scored 26 points to lead Moreau to a 74-71 victory over Liberty. The Hayward school improved to 24-4 overall and stretched its winning streak to 13.