Here are this week’s candidates for the Antonio’s Pizza Prime Time Performer. You can vote once every 12 hours until the polls close on Friday at 5pm. The winner will receive a $20 gift card to Antonio’s Pizza!
Southeast’s 4×100 relay team – Does winning a state championship earn a spot on Prime Time Performer? Yes indeed. Jamari Drake, Alexis Henry, Dontavia Howard and Katelynn Robinson ran a 48.15 in the 2A 4×100 meter relay on Saturday at the state finals for a first place finish. These four Spartans beat Maple Park Kaneland who came in at 48.3. Those ten points also helped Southeast finish third in 2A in total team points.
Olivia Felts (Williamsville softball) They won the Sangamo on the back of their sophomore pitchers and now the Bullets are hoping they carry them through the postseason. Williamsville won their own regional thanks to Felts, who pitched seven shutout innings of one hit ball against Pleasant Plains to win regional 1-0 as she racked up nine strikeouts against the Cardinals.
Tristan Weaver (Auburn baseball) We thought about trying to give this one to Peyton Weiss or Brady Dowson but come on. This guy threw one of the best pitching performances this area has seen in a very long time. Tristan Weaver continues to add to his Auburn legend. Weaver struck out 19 QND batters in the Trojans’ 4-1 regional championship win at the New Berlin 2A regional Saturday. Of the 21 outs that Auburn recorded, Weaver got 19 of them by way of the “K”. Incredible.
Marah Abu-Tayeh (Williamsville soccer) After their loss to Plains in the Cardinals’ tournament, Joe Fandel seems to have a refocused group of girls. Williamsville rolls into the Elite Eight this week on the back of the Abu-Tayeh twins. Marah had a hat trick against Bloomington Central Catholic to win the sectional title on Friday. That followed up her performance against St. Thomas More in the sectional semifinal in which she had two goals and four assists.
Maddie Gleeson (Rochester soccer) The Rochester Rockets girls soccer team won another regional title on Friday, imagine that. It seems to be somewhat of a foregone conclusion that Chad Kutscher will be coaching late into May and possibly June this season, regardless of what class the IHSA puts his team in. The offense can come from many different sources, but the goalkeeper position is a one woman show and Maddie Gleeson is the girl between the pipes for Rochester. She kept Glenwood from scoring a single goal and watched her offense put up five goals Friday.
Ashleigh Cearlock (SHG soccer) Cyclone nation is psyched to see SHG soccer soaring into the super-sectionals this week. Senior goal-scoring machine Ashleigh Cearlock took care of the scoring in the sectional semifinals and the sectional title game last week, netting a hat trick in both games to power SHG into the Elite Eight in 1A girls soccer. Cearlock’s six goals last week came against Litchfield and QND. Cearlock and the Cycs now have Alton Marquette standing in the way of a trip to state this weekend.
Damian Pierce (Springfield baseball) Some Prime Time Performer nods put up numbers, while others come through in the clutch. Springfield High junior Damian Pierce put himself in the running this week with one swing of the bat. Damo, as he’s know in the dugout, hit a walk off solo home run against Rochester on Thursday to give the Senators their first outright Central State Eight baseball title in 16 seasons. Springfield won 2-1 and now head into regionals, where they might see Rochester again for a regional title.
Justin Beggs (Williamsville baseball) There’s certain moments in games where spectators can tell the momentum has changed. The bottom of the seventh inning in the 2A Riverton regional semifinal was one of those moments. Justin Beggs walked up to the plate after Talon File, Joe Roscetti and Vince Vignali had already picked up hits in the inning to get Williamsville right back in the game in their last chance to rally. Beggs blasted a two run, walk off dinger to straight away center field to keep the Bullets postseason hopes alive. Coach Jess Buttry’s boys were on the verge of a first round exit in the postseason after finishing as the state runner-up last year. Beggs’ blast made sure that didn’t happen and Williamsville wound up winning another regional on Saturday.
