Here are this week’s candidates for Prime Time Performer.
You can vote once every 12 hours until the polls close on Friday at 5 p.m.
Sydney Landers (Auburn Wrestler) All the attention out in Auburn is focused on 195 pounder Peyton Hudspeth, but Sydney Landers is quietly putting together an impressive resume. The 170 pounder won the PORTA Invitational on Saturday by defeating Jacob Dixon from Carlinville. Syd is 14-0 to start his senior season and will likely drop into the 160 weight class as he prepares to try and make it to Champaign at the end of the season.
Makenzie Bray (Glenwood Forward) While Springfield High and Rochester are the class of the CS8 girls basketball conference, there’s a junior out in Chatham that continues to put up incredible numbers. Makenzie Bray tied at school record with 34 points against Normal Community and to follow up that performance, she poured in 24 against the Senators.
Montshianna Pulliam (Springfield High Forward) As previously mentioned, the Springfield High Senators have stormed their way through the early part of their schedule. Not only are the Solons winning, they are winning in dominant fashion with a variety of players leading the way. One of those leaders is Montshianna Pulliam who can do a little bit of everything for the Senators, including score. She had 18 points against Glenwood and 13 against Lanphier in their two CS8 wins last week.
Mark Johnson (Southeast Forward) Seniors run the Spartans this season with the exception of sophomore Anthony “High Flyin” Fairlee. While Trey and Slim get a lot of the attention, the guy who does a lot of the little things is Mark Johnson. The senior forward is the hard working, glue guy on this roster and he came through with 15 points and 13 boards on the road to help the Spartans to a rough win over MacArthur on Friday.
Hunter Maxwell (Athens Forward) Mister Big Shot. Athens forward Hunter Maxwell might pick up the most Big Nasty t-shirts in the 2016-2017 with his hard hits on the football field and hammers on the hardwood, but Maxwell showed a little something extra this week. Needing a bucket down by one on the road, Maxwell rose and fired from the free throw line and hit the game winner against Williamsville on Tuesday. He finished up with 17 points against the Bullets to keep the Warriors unbeaten in Sangamo play.
Bryson Kirby (Lincoln Guard) Lincoln continues to impress by going on the road at the Bowl and coming out with a win. The Railsplitters scored 12 points in the first quarter and Kirby had nine of them. The senior guard finished with 15 points and eight rebounds and the Railers left Jacksonville with a win.
Yaakema Rose (Lanphier Guard) The undefeated Lanphier Lions continue to put up impressive numbers in their wins. The senior leader is Yaakema Rose and he scored 26 points in both of their conference games last week. Yaak had 26 points and seven boards against Eisenhower after putting up 26 points, ten rebounds, five assists and three steals against the Senators on Tuesday. Talk about filling up the stat sheet.
Hannah Smith (Auburn Guard) Some people impress with big numbers in big wins, while others step up in the clutch. Auburn’s junior guard Hannah Smith toed the free throw line on the road Thursday night with a chance to ice the game and keep the Trojans undefeated. Smith sunk them both and finished with 10 points to help Auburn take down Athens and keep a zero in the season loss column for the Auburn ladies.
Brandon Hay (Glenwood Forward) We hit the frozen pond for some hockey last week and as expected, saw the best player in the Lincoln Land High School Hockey League skate circles around people. Glenwood’s Brandon Hay scored four goals and had two assists in the Titans’ 9-1 win over Springfield High. If you get a chance to head over to the Nelson Center this season when Hay is on the ice, it’s worth the price of admission.
Austin Galloway (Pawnee Forward) Pawnee had two candidates worthy of a Prime Time Performer nod but we’ll throw it to Austin Galloway this week because he surpassed the 1,000 point mark. Galloway scored 14 in the Indians’ four point win over Lutheran, then scored 24 points in a losing effort against Auburn on Friday before pouring in 27 points in a big win over Mt. Olive on Saturday.
Skylar Hayes (Mt. Pulaski Guard) We’ve been hearing big things about a superstar in the making out in Mt. Pulaski. Sophomore guard Skylar Hayes is becoming one of the area’s best scorers. Hayes set a new school record for the Hilltoppers with 41 points last week. Her average is up to nearly 20 per game this season.
Katie Elmore (Lutheran High Guard) Speaking of big time scorers, the school way out on West Washington has a pretty good one. Lutheran High senior Katie Elmore passed the 1,000 point mark last week in a 21 point performance over Calvary on Monday, then followed it up with 18 over Mt. Pulaski and added 19 points against Warrensburg-Latham. The Crusaders are off to a good start in the 2016-2017 season and Elmore is leading the way.
