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 Jan. 6-11.
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:
Cleo Afsar, Piedmont basketball: Afsar scored 21 points to lead all scorers as Piedmont beat San Leandro 72-25.
Mariah Betancourt, Evergreen Valley soccer: The senior striker scored three goals to lead Evergreen over Westmont 6-4 in a nonleague matchup.
Rylan Cashman, Fremont-Sunnyvale soccer: The senior scored six goals in two matches, three each against Wilcox and Milpitas. She added two assists in Fremont’s win over Wilcox.
Ella Gunderson, San Ramon Valley basketball: Gunderson paced all scorers with 23 points and added five rebounds and five assists as SRV knocked off Alameda 79-47 to improve to 11-2.
Ariana Hallstrom, Acalanes basketball: Hallstrom, a senior, led all scorers with 23 points as Acalanes took down Berean Christian.
Zoey Lemoge, Half Moon Bay basketball: Junior center Lemoge led HMB with 22 points as the Cougars took down Carlmont 71-42 to improve to 10-2 and 2-0 in league play.
Ravyn Martin, San Leandro basketball: Martin scored 18 points and added 15 rebounds, three steals and three blocks as San Leandro beat Hayward 40-28.
Sophia Sanchez, St. Ignatius basketball: Sanchez, a junior, scored 21 points to lead SI over Valley Christian 46-42 in a tight WCAL matchup in the City.
Maddison Sardelich, Northgate basketball: Sardelich dominated the boards for Northgate, pulling down 19 rebounds and adding seven points as the Broncos beat Benicia 49-34.
Shirinia Shi, American basketball: Shi scored 35 points to lead American to a 68-55 win over Mission San Jose as the Eagles improved to 12-2 and 3-1 in MVAL play.