Vote now: Bay Area News Group girls 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.
Also note: Public display of the results is capped at 50,000 votes. If the poll surpasses 50,000 votes, we will keep track of the results internally.
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 Sept. 29-Oct. 4.
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.
If you haven’t already, please subscribe. Your contributions keep us going.
On to the nominees:
Megan Bence, Carlmont tennis: The senior continued her strong season, shutting out Sequoia’s Emma Wang 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles to help power Carlmont to a 6-1 match win. Bence is 12-0 this season, leading Carlmont to an undefeated record in league play to this point.
Ella Del Rosario, Acalanes water polo: The senior scored five goals each in wins over Redwood and Las Lomas, adding five combined assists and three steals across the two games for Acalanes, the No. 2 girls water polo team in the country, according to MaxPreps.
Cecelia Doeschot, Washington-Fremont water polo: The freshman scored eight goals, had three steals and an earned ejection as Washington beat Mission San Jose 14-3. She also played lockdown defense on the other team’s center.
Jamie Elkington, Sequoia flag football: The senior receiver showed out in a narrow 35-33 loss to Galileo, catching 11 passes for 141 yards. She added six receptions for 47 yards against Hillsdale.
Fernanda Mendieta, Los Altos flag football: In an Oct. 1 victory over visiting Gunn, Mendieta caught four passes for 138 yards and three TDs, the longest going for 66 yards. She also converted a PAT for a total of 19 points scored in a 38-13 victory. She recorded seven tackles and returned a punt.
Kellie Peak, Santa Clara water polo: Peak had 21 saves and 18 steals in two games against Milpitas and Fremont-Sunnyvale. “Kellie is like a wall in the goal,” said interim coach DeeDee Kiyota. “She can also score from the field. She is what keeps us competitive in games.”
Caroline Swanson, College Park water polo: The senior scored six goals, added two assists and also had a steal as College Park routed Benicia 13-2.
Navlynn Thomas, Tennyson flag football: The sophomore ran the ball 11 times for 194 yards and two touchdowns, standing out as Tennyson competed against a tough James Logan team.
Katie Vail, Granada flag football: Vail completed 16 of 25 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns to zero interceptions in the Matadors’ 12-0 win over Dublin. She also kept drives alive with her legs, rushing for 75 yards on 11 carries.
Ella Vega, James Logan flag football: Vega led the James Logan offense to victories over San Leandro and Tennyson, going 44-of-66 through the air with 524 yards and seven touchdown as well as two rushing touchdowns and five conversion passes.
Ava Wang, Menlo School volleyball: The senior libero posted 31 digs and three aces in a pair of sweeps over WBAL opponents Harker and Notre Dame-San Jose. Wang has surpassed the 1,000 career digs mark, becoming the first for Menlo since fellow four-year starter Sianna Houghton, a 2019 Menlo grad.