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.
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. 22-27.
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.
Look for the poll at the bottom of this page.
On to the nominees:
Teagan Cooling, Leigh volleyball: The senior Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo commit recorded 53 kills as the Longhorns swept Piedmont Hills and beat Silver Creek 3-1. She reached 1,000 career kills as she powered Leigh to two league wins with an outstanding 7.6 kills per set.
Lucia Forney, Hillsdale flag football: The Knights’ versatile freshman rushed five times for 166 yards and three touchdowns and caught eight passes for 108 yards and two more touchdowns, compiling 274 all-purpose yards and five total scores as Hillsdale beat Half Moon Bay 38-19. She added five more catches for 39 yards as well as 49 rushing yards and a touchdown in a 20-0 win over Burton.
Chloe Gilbert, Castro Valley water polo: The senior scored eight goals and added three assists in a 15-9 win over Lick-Wilmerding, eight more goals and two assists in an 11-10 win over Encinal, five goals and three assists each in wins over Piedmont and Irvington and two goals and two assists each in a win over College Park and a loss to Alameda.
Lucy Graham, Berkeley water polo: The sophomore scored six goals and added an assist and a steal in a 9-5 win over Piedmont, then scored five times and assisted on Berkeley’s other four goals in a 9-8 win over Encinal. She added two steals as well.
Payton Ladrido, Heritage flag football: In a 26-0 win at Livermore, the junior touched the ball 13 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns. In an 8-0 win over Pittsburg, she ran 26 yards for the game’s only touchdown and carried 11 times for 73 yards She had four touches for 87 yards and a score against Dublin, including a 63-yard TD, then added 144 yards on four carries against Cornerstone Christian, scoring twice. For the week, she had 415 yards from scrimmage (329 rush, 86 receiving) and six touchdowns.
Ryleigh Longaker, Sacred Heart Prep flag football: The senior QB ran for two TDs and threw for another as SHP beat previously 6-1 Carlmont 20-6. Previously, Carlmont had not given up more than six points in a game all season. Longaker also scored the go-ahead TD on a 45-yard fourth-down run as SHP beat St. Francis 7-0.
Sophia Maldonado, Menlo School water polo: The junior goalie tallied 15 saves, a goal, and three assists in the Knights’ victories over Los Altos and Presentation.
Makena Myers, College Park water polo: The senior scored three goals, had two assists and added seven steals in a 13-8 win over Alhambra, then added four goals, a pair of assists and four steals in a 14-6 win over Moreau Catholic.
Rachel Schmidt, Amador Valley flag football: The senior free safety had three interceptions against Dublin as the Dons’ defense pitched a shutout in an 18-2 win. (An AV snap into the end zone gave Dublin its lone points.) On one of Schmidt’s picks, she pitched the ball to a teammate, who ended up scoring a defensive TD on the play.
Helena Younan, Los Gatos flag football: The sophomore QB went 13-22 through the air for 168 yards and two TDs in a 12-10 win over Milpitas, 13-27 for 97 yards and two scores in a win over Monterey Trail, 10-20 for three TDs and 214 yards in a 19-7 win over Wilcox, 10-16 for 114 yards and two scores in a 14-12 loss to Ventura and finished an efficient 12-16 for 124 yards and a score in a 19-0 win over Salinas.