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) boys 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 Feb. 19-24.
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:
Jaxson Bettencourt, Archbishop Mitty soccer: The junior provided all the scoring Mitty needed when he put a shot past the goalkeeper on a corner kick pass from Manuel Portillo in the 61st minute. Mitty went on to beat St. Francis 2-0 for the Central Coast Section Division I championship.
Scotty Brennan, Los Gatos basketball: The junior scored 31 points in an 82-80 overtime victory over Santa Teresa in the semifinals and 16 – including clutch free throws – in a 58-54 win over Menlo-Atherton in the final as Los Gatos captured the CCS Division I championship.
Marlow Buettner, Berkeley soccer: The senior scored Berkeley’s biggest goal of the season, a strike in overtime that lifted the Yellowjackets to a 1-0 victory over Dougherty Valley in the North Coast Section Division I title match.
Kenny Cloud, Dougherty Valley basketball: Scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half and was 12 for 12 from the free-throw line overall – 7 for 7 in the fourth quarter – as Dougherty Valley captured the NCS Division I title with a 64-61 victory at Dublin.
Landon Comerford, Foothill baseball: The junior went 5 for 5 with four RBIs as Foothill rolled past Aragon 14-3 in a non-league game. The victory evened the Falcons’ record at 1-1.
ArDarius Grayson, Oakland Tech: Scored 15 points and made clutch free throws to propel Oakland Tech past rival Oakland 66-59 in the Oakland Section championship game on Saturday.
Mason Lisi, Las Lomas soccer: Helped ignite the Knights to the NCS Division II championship when he scored about five minutes into the match. Las Lomas added two more goals before halftime and won 3-1 to improve to 21-2-2.
Nolan Mannina, Branham baseball: The senior went 3 for 3 in back-to-back games to open the season as Branham defeated Cupertino 12-6 and Los Altos 8-5. Had a double and three RBIs against Cupertino and two RBIs against Los Altos.
Moses Mirabal, Gilroy wrestling: Celebrated a state title in the 144-pound classification when he edged Buchanan-Clovis sophomore Joseph Toscano 2-1 at the California Interscholastic Federation championships in Bakersfield. Gilroy finished third in the team standings.
Trevor Rogers, Acalanes track and field: The Cal-bound track/football star had a meet for the ages against San Ramon Valley and Concord, winning the long jump in 23-0 (No. 2 in the state this season), the high jump in 6-4 (No. 7 in the state) and the 200 meters in 22.44 (No. 7 in the state). Also ran a superb leg on the 4×100 relay, but the team later dropped the baton.
