Vote for your NWFDN Athlete of the Week for April 11-16!
FORT WALTON BEACH — Another week, another star-studded cast of Athlete of the Week nominees.
After an impressive run by the wrestling community to nab seven Athletes of the Week this winter, spring is in full bloom and the attention has shifted to the track, diamond, gridiron, tennis courts and weight room.
Who will join former winners Collin Stewart, Aaron Rowell, Oli Broutin, Max Brewster, Cedric Fairrow, Cole Tabb, O.B. Howard, Eli Oswald, Jera Trovato, Luke Latham, Quinn Carper, Alex Davidson, Layne Franks, Sam Sherer, Zak Vosburgh, Spencer Mackenzie, Donovan Campbell, Will Jetton, Kemper Hodges, Ashton Nunes, Kayleb Wagner, Belicia O'Grady, Luke Larkin, Bailey Gable, Parker Nunley, Landon Campbell, Page Dolloff, Kaleb Hollins, Mariane Johnson and Sophia Edwards?
That's for you to decide.
The poll is up and running at nwfdailynews.com through 4 p.m. Thursday. The winner (the same Athlete can't win AOTW twice in a season) will be awarded a one-of-a-kind NWF Daily News Athlete of the Week T-shirt sponsored by All Sports Association at their school and a weekend feature.
So far this year, there's been more than 1.1 million votes cast over 30 weeks since the polls began in August. For context, that leads all Florida Gannett properties.
Baker, Choctaw, Crestview, Fort Walton, Freeport, Niceville, Rocky Bayou and South Walton have all been represented, leaving just Walton, Navarre, Destin, Paxton and Laurel Hill as the area schools on the outside looking in.
For future purposes, nominees are accepted via email or phone at sstringer@nwfdailynews.com or 252-414-4239. Coaches, fans, parents and grandparents, athletes ... any and all submissions are welcomed.
Is your team or sport missing from Athlete of the Week? Be sure to file statistics with sports editor Seth Stringer or keep your MaxPreps page up to date.
Now get to voting.
Week 31 Nominees
Baseball: Ethan Edge, Niceville — A week after signing with Pensacola State, the senior cleanup hitter went 9-for-12 against Pensacola Catholic, Arnold and Crestview last week, driving in seven runs in the process as he raised his batting average to .479.
Softball: Isabella Santos, FWB — In a pair of easy wins over Pine Forest and Crestview, Santos went 5-for-7 with four RBI, four runs, three stolen bases and a walk.
Track and Field: Narissa Clay, Choctaw — The Troy University-bound senior won the Okaloosa County titles in the shot put (33-04.00) and discus (118-05.25).
Tennis: Blake Forester, Niceville — Leading the Eagles to a District 2-3A championship, the senior won the No. 1 singles crown and No. 1 doubles crown alongside Grayson Dannelly to automatically qualify for state.
Follow sports editor Seth Stringer on twitter at @SethSnwfdn.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Vote for your Northwest Florida Daily News Athlete of the Week for April 11-16!