Vote now: Bay Area News Group girls high school athlete of the week
Make your choice for the top performance among girls high school athletes from Feb. 13-18
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.
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 Feb. 13-18. 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 are not counted.
Scroll to the bottom for the poll.
Winners are announced each Friday online and, starting Sept. 30, 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:
Luana Dennison, Aragon soccer: The top seed in CCS Division II held off the upset bid from No. 8 Burlingame thanks to a stellar effort from goalkeeper Dennison and a stingy Dons defense. The sophomore goalie had five saves in the 1-0 shutout.
Natalie Dance, Mt. Diablo basketball: The 5-1 sophomore led the eighth-seeded Red Devils to a stunning 47-44 upset over Berean Christian, the top seed in the NCS’s Division V. Dance scored a team-high 27 points.
Karena Eberts, Miramonte basketball: Eberts, a junior, surpassed the 1,000-point total for her high school career during a 64-56 NCS Division II quarterfinal win over Redwood. Eberts, who averages over 17 points-per-game this season, scored 24 points to lead all players.
Mikayla Garcia, James Logan wrestling: For the second year in a row, Garcia won her division’s NCS championship. Now in the 111-pound class, Garcia had won the 106 class in 2022. She pinned her opponent in 3:51.
Mary Jane Porter, Gilroy wrestling: Porter won the 131-pound title for Gilroy, and was one of four wrestlers from the school to finish as a division champion. Porter won her matchup by a score of 2-0.
Katianna Martinez, Evergreen Valley wrestling: Martinez won the189-pound title at the CCS Championship Masters meet in Watsonville on Saturday. Martinez, one of Evergreen Valley’s seven finalists, pinned her opponent in 1:18.
Ava Mathieson, Las Lomas soccer: The junior attacker had a role in both of Las Lomas’ goals during the upset of No. 1 seed Acalanes. She scored once and assisted Paige Thompson’s goal. Las Lomas, the No. 9 seed in Division II, defeated Tamalpais in the first round.
Lauren Nguyen, Granada wrestling: Nguyen won the NCS’s 101-pound division and defeated her opponent 6-4. At the Napa Valley Classic in January, Nguyen finished fourth in the 103-pound division.
Mialani Talalele, Santa Clara basketball: The sophomore did it all for the Bruins in their 61-32 victory over Homestead in the first round of the CCS Division I playoffs. The younger sister of USC-bound football player Amos Talalele scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
Juno Winegar, Mountain View soccer: The junior’s two goals helped the CCS Open Division’s No. 3 seed stave off No. 6 Menlo School by a score of 3-1 in the first round. Mountain View will travel to Menlo-Atherton on Wednesday.