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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 April 29 to May 4.
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.
On to the nominees:
Sasha Babushkina, San Ramon Valley swimming: Babushkina, a sophomore, helped the Wolves take first place in the 200-yard freestyle relay at the North Coast Section championships, with SRV edging out second-place Monte Vista with a time of 1:34.89.
Emilia Barck, Campolindo swimming: The senior who is committed to Brown helped the Moraga school win the NCS team championship for the second time in three years. Barck won the girls 200 individual medley in 2:01.94. She also helped Campolindo win the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:25.34.
Olivia Detter, Castilleja swimming: The senior who is committed to Northwestern dominated the girls sprints, winning the 50 free (23.36) and 100 free (50.47). She also anchored the 200 free relay that took first place in 1:35.63.
Malia Groen, Leigh swimming: Groen, a freshman, won the longest race at the Central Coast Section championships, placing first in the 500 free with a time of 4:55.09. She also helped Leigh place seventh as a team.
Dana Motroni, Capuchino softball: Motroni, a freshman, had an especially memorable walk-off double against Hillsdale. Her winning hit didn’t just knock the Knights down to second place in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division standings, but it also drove in her older sister Avery.
Madison O’Connell, Carondelet swimming: The UC San Diego-bound senior won the 100 freestyle at the NCS championships with a time of 50.64. Also captured gold in the 100 backstroke as she clocked in with a time of 53.58. She also helped the Cougars win the 200 medley relay as the Concord school recorded a time of 1:43.56.
Caitlin Quill, St. Ignatius swimming: Quill, a UC Santa Barbara commit, won the 100 backstroke at the CCS championships and helped the San Francisco school capture the team title over Palo Alto.
Haley Saole, Santa Teresa softball: Saole, a senior, was 3 for 4 with a solo home run against Leigh and also got the save in the pitcher’s circle with a strikeout. A few days earlier, she helped turn two double plays against Valley Christian and had two hits.
Claire Shelton, Hillsdale softball: Shelton, a senior infielder, was 6 for 10 with three doubles. She also had four RBIs, which padded her league-leading total to 37.
Kelsey Zhang, Saratoga swimming: Zhang, a sophomore, appeared to break a CCS record in the 200 individual medley at the section championships but was disqualified despite the ruling being opposed by other coaches and denounced as unfair. Zhang came back to convincingly win her favorite event, the 100 butterfly, in 52.14.
Originally published at Joseph Dycus