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.
Cole Greer (Pleasant Plains Guard) He didn’t make the Sangamon County all tournament team…somehow. For what it’s worth, Cole Greer was viewed in our office as the main reason the Pleasant Plains Cardinals repeated as County champs. Greer scored 9 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter of the championship game to seal the win for Coach Weber and go out a County champ as a senior himself.
Jacquez Stewart (Springfield High Wrestler) There wasn’t anyone the Senators wanted on the mat more at the time they needed a win the most on Friday night. Just a sophomore, Jacquez Stewart got a win by fall at 4:47 against his Lanphier opponent to lock up another Springfield High City wrestling title. Stewart has his eyes set on a return trip to state, but another City crown under his belt makes him a perfect 2 for 2 in his high school career.
Max Day (New Berlin Forward) The Pretzels didn’t quite get the trophy they wanted last week but a third place finish for a team that was seeded sixth is a strong showing yet again. New Berlin was led by junior Max Day inside, especially in their opener against Auburn with 14 points to move them into the winner’s bracket. Day had 11 against Athens to seal a third place finish and end the tournament with a win. The all tournament team selection continues to be a solid piece for Blake Lucas to build that program around.
Matt Bahlmann (Glenwood Guard) The Titans will be on the rise in the Power Rankings this week and a big reason why is back to back wins from Glenwood over Jacksonville and Lincoln. The boys out in Chatham struggled to find their footing early in the year but a steady scorer from last year was still there and has been emerging as the go-to guy this season. Junior Matt Bahlmann put up 12 points against the Crimsons and then had a game high ten points…yeah, we know, ten points is a lot in a game that only had 48 total points in an overtime win for Glenwood.
Olivia Felts (Williamsville Forward) The Williamsville Lady Bullets picked up a huge home conference win last week to make their path to back to back Sangamo titles a lot easier. The Bullets’ inside presence put up 15 points in their huge win over Auburn and helped to keep Katryel Clark in check on the defensive end.
Austin Galloway (Pawnee Forward) Pawnee had a tough draw at the County Tournament, getting the eventually champion in the opening round. The Indians put up a fight but lost the Cardinals and then made the most of it by winning the consolation bracket. The guy who put Pawnee on his shoulders (sorry, we couldn’t resist) was Austin Galloway who led the whole Sangamon County Tournament in scoring with 62 points, including an incredible 29 in the consolation championship against Auburn where he went 11 for 11 from the floor.
Ben Fromme (South County Guard) We have weeks where players put up incredible numbers in games or hit career milestones to get themselves into the Prime Time Performer list. Sometimes though, all you need is one moment to land you a nomination. South County’s Ben Fromme stepped up against Hillsboro and hit the game winning shot for the Vipers in a 53-51 victory. Fromme finished the night with 11, but the buzzer beater will be remembered for quite some time.
Mitch Hutmacher (Glenwood Wrestler) The Glenwood Titan wrestling team has plenty of guys that get the spotlight and deservedly so. Heavyweight Will Putnam has yet to lose this season and guys like Garrick Walker and Aiden Woodfall return home from tournaments with titles all the time. Mitch Hutmacher however, came through with a huge win in overtime against Rochester last week to tip the scales in the Titans favor when the team points could have went either way and allowed Glenwood to come back and win and stay undefeated in the CS8 conference.
Steven Price (Tri-City Guard) Way up on the list of most impressive players at the Sangamon County tournament this year in our office was Tri-City’s Steven Price. The Tornadoes guard put up an impressive 30 points against Athens on his way to a second place finish on the scoring leaderboard at County, just behind Galloway. Price put up 14 against Pawnee in a tough loss, but Tri-City is a certainly a team to watch in the MSM this season and you don’t want to see Price on the other bench when regionals roll around.
