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 Sept. 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:
Maxwell Buran, Leland water polo: Buran scored 36 goals, dished out seven assists and had 10 steals in six games played last week, which included a 10-goal game against Serra. Leland went 3-3 in that span.
Jace Cleghorn, Liberty water polo: Cleghorn totaled 12 goals, six assists, four steals and three field blocks in two wins against Washington-Fremont and Foothill. Liberty has started the season 8-1.
Jamie Forese, Menlo football: The senior had 8.5 tackles and two pass breakups and caught two touchdowns as a receiver. Menlo (3-0) will play at Capuchino (3-0) this week.
Maurice Hall, Hayward football: Hall had 359 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns in Hayward’s 40-32 win over Tennyson. Hayward (2-1) is scheduled to host American Canyon on Friday.
Kenji Kawabata, Newark Memorial cross country: Kawabata crossed the finish line in 15:33.26 to take first place in the three-mile run at the Mission Valley Athletic League meet.
Andrew Limawan, Dougherty Valley water polo: The junior scored four goals in the Wildcats’ 16-6 win over Pittsburg. Dougherty Valley is 3-4 through seven games this season.
Lamont McDonald, Tennyson football: McDonald totaled 336 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in Tennyson’s 40-32 loss to Hayward. The Lancers are 1-2 and will travel to Mt. Eden this week.
Jaylen Malcom, Santa Teresa football: Malcom punched in the game-winning touchdown in overtime to lift Santa Teresa over Pioneer in a 41-35 win. The junior had four touchdowns for Santa Teresa, which improved to 3-0 and will host Hillsdale on Friday.
Giovanni Mejia, Silver Creek football: The senior completed 6 of 8 passes for 117 yards and four touchdowns in Silver Creek’s 42-0 win over San Jose. The Raiders have gotten off to a 3-0 start heading into their bye week.
Jamar Searcy, Pittsburg football: The Washington State-bound senior rushed for 156 yards and four touchdowns in Pittsburg’s 56-42 win over Riordan. Pittsburg will travel to Bellflower to face national powerhouse St. John Bosco this week.
Kai Sniffen, Archbishop Mitty football: Sniffen picked off three passes to lead Archbishop Mitty past Menlo-Atherton in a 21-point shutout. Mitty ends its non-league portion of its schedule undefeated through three games.
Aydon Stefanopoulos, Los Gatos cross country: The senior took first place in the men’s two mile run- Large Schools Division at the Ed Sias Invitational with a time of 9:58.93.
Sedrick Vaughn, Vallejo football: Vaughn caught the game-winning touchdown in Vallejo’s 7-6 win over Mt. Diablo. Vallejo (1-1) will host Lincoln-San Francisco in its next game.