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) girls 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 March 24-29.
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:
Julianna Altamirano, Live Oak softball: Altamirano pitched a no-hitters for Live Oak last week against Pioneer, blanking the Mustangs 10-0 with 11 strikeouts. It was Altamirano’s second consecutive no-hitter after also no-hitting Del Mar in a 14-0 win on March 21.
Kamryn Brannon, Granada softball: Brannon, a sophomore, keyed Granada’s upset of No. 8 San Ramon Valley, firing a shutout in the circle with two hits allowed as the Matadors beat SRV 1-0.
Ava Bulanti, St. Francis softball: Bulanti batted in two runs at the dish and picked up the win in the circle against St. Ignatius, helping the Lancers win a top-four matchup with five shutout innings and just two hits allowed.
Giselle De Casas, Castro Valley softball: De Casas hit the game-winning two-run double to break a 2-2 tie as Castro Valley upset No. 11 Alameda 4-3 on the road.
Sofia Flierl, Menlo School swimming: Flierl, a senior, made the CCS cut in the 500 freestyle, 200 free relay and 400 free relay at a meet against other West Bay Athletic League schools. Flierl placed second in the 500 free and won the 200 relay alongside teammates Eden Chuang, Zoe Chuang and Leila Kao.
Kailie Kahono, Dublin lacrosse: Kahono, a junior, scored three goals and had an assist in Dublin’s 18-6 win over Granada, then scored four goals in a 13-2 win over Livermore.
Ellie McCuskey-Hay, St. Ignatius track and field: McCuskey-Hay won the long jump with a season-best mark of 19 feet, 7 inches and won the 200 meters with a personal-best time of 23.9 seconds at the Lynbrook Invitational on Saturday. She also won the 100 in 11.71 seconds and anchored the 4×100-meter relay (49.24 seconds) to a win on Wednesday in a dual meet with St. Francis.
Kaci Norton, Livermore softball: Norton shut out Amador Valley 3-0 with a complete-game gem, conceding just one hit and three walks as Livermore picked up a ranked win in East Bay Athletic League play.
Isabella Paskert, Piedmont Hills softball: Paskert compiled seven hits across three games last week, leading Piedmont Hills to wins over Lincoln-San Jose, Prospect and Silver Creek. She had four home runs, a triple and 11 runs batted in and 10 runs scored across 10 official at-bats, adding three walks.
Hailey White, Foothill lacrosse: A freshman, White scored two goals and added a pair of assists in Foothill’s 6-5 win over Livermore, then added five goals and two more assists in a 12-2 victory over Granada.