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 Feb. 24 to March 1.
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:
Selene Bruyere, Homestead soccer: The junior midfielder scored a free-kick from 25 yards out to give the Mustangs their first CCS championship since 1993. She was also part of a Homestead defense that held Salinas to just one shot on goal in the Division II final.
Lynn Byun, St. Francis soccer: The sophomore winger scored the game-winner in the CCS Division I final against Archbishop Mitty, lofting a high-arcing ball toward the net from over 20 yards away. St. Francis won 1-0.
Ella Cohen, Palo Alto wrestling: The freshman, competing at 105 pounds, defeated Ava Fodera of Poway by fall at 5:20 to win a state title. Cohen had defeated her Gilroy opponent in the CCS championships last week.
Kelly Ho, Mills basketball: The guard saved Mills in the fourth quarter of the CCS Division III title game against Notre Dame-San Jose. Ho made four 3-pointers in the final period and had 14 points overall as Mills scored 25 points over the last eight minutes to win.
Amanda Kayari, Monte Vista soccer: The senior goalkeeper was in top form during the NCS Division I championship game against Amador Valley. She kept the Dons from scoring in a 1-0 overtime thriller as the Mustangs completed their Cinderella run from No. 10 seed to section champs.
Ze’Ni Patterson, Archbishop Mitty basketball: The sophomore scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed three rebounds as Archbishop Mitty defeated Pinewood in the CCS Open Division championship game. She also nabbed three steals.
Roya Rezaee, Menlo School soccer: The senior scored the game-winning goal in the CCS D-III title game, a 2-1 victory over Mountain View. Rezaee was also a leading figure in victories over Carlmont and Menlo-Atherton in the previous rounds.
Melissa Romo Padilla, Oakland Tech soccer: The senior scored a goal as Tech took down Skyline 2-0 and captured the Oakland Section championship. The Bulldogs are 12-1-1 over their last 14 matches.
Alyssa Rudd, San Ramon Valley basketball: The junior forward scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in SRV’s dominant 76-43 rout of Acalanes in the NCS Open Division title game.
Sadie Slaughter, Prospect basketball: The senior scored 15 points in the Panthers’ 50-30 victory over Christopher in the CCS D-II championship game. She told the Bay Area News Group, “For us to get this far is really, really a giant step.“
Arlie Tatum, El Cerrito softball: The freshman had quite the start to her high school career, hitting for the cycle and going 4 for 4 in a victory over Bethel, and then getting three hits and driving in five runs in her next two games.
Lewa White, Sacred Heart Prep soccer: The junior scored a goal and dished out three assists in SHP’s 7-0 romp over North Monterey County in the CCS D-V title game. It was the Gators’ first section title since 2020.