Who had Pennsylvania's best individual performances?
You vote, you decide. MaxPreps is proud to sponsor the Pennsylvania Athlete of the Week awards during the 2021-22 school year.
Each week during the season (regular and post), there will be a fan-generated contest to tab weekly winners. Each winner receives a letter and award patch for their varsity jacket.
How does it work? Nominees are selected from statistics submitted on MaxPreps. Coaches who do not have current access may request their free account here. Weekly finalists are released on MaxPreps every Tuesday and voting is conducted in a special poll. Voting ceases at noon on Mondays. The winners are announced the next day along with the next week's nominees.
Participants may vote as many times as they want. It's a competition. Last week over 190,000 votes were cast. So for this school year over 1.6-million votes have been cast.
Week 8 Pennsylvania High School Athletes of the Week
* Nicole Kuchinski, Susquehanna Township (Harrisburg) Girls SoccerJunior
goalie had 29 and 26 saves in narrow losses to Bishop McDevitt (2-0)
and Trinity (2-1). Has 116 saves in her last five games.
* Caitlyn Daywalt, Upper Merion Area (King of Prussia) VolleyballJunior
setter had 45, 34, 31 and 30 assists in a loss to Upper Dublin and wins
over Abington, Great Valley and Methacton, respectively. Has 504
assists and 108 digs this season.
Here is the school year's first round of nominees...
Week 9 Pennsylvania High School Athlete of the Week Nominees
* Nick Gross, Downingtown West Boys GolfSophomore won a playoff on the second hole to win the PIAA Class AAA state title. Shot a two-under 69 to force the playoff.
* Braylan Lovelace, Leechburg FootballJunior running back scored seven touchdowns and ran for 184 yards on 17 carries in a 66-6 win over Imani Christian Academy. Has rushed for 1,194 yards and 24 touchdowns this season.
* Sydney Yermish, Lower Merion (Ardmore) Girls GolfJunior shot a four-under 68 to win the PIAA Class AAA state title by three strokes.
* Erynne Long, Downingtown East (Exton) VolleyballJunior setter had 44, 44 and 41 assists in wins over Central Bucks East and Owen J. Roberts and a loss to Sun Valley, respectively. Has 688 assists and 143 digs on the season.
* Josh James, Union City Boys GolfJunior shot a one-over 72 to win the PIAA Class AA state title by two strokes.
* Anna Steinbeck, Windber Girls SoccerJunior had four goals and six assists in a win over Tussey Mountain and two goals and an assist in a win over Cambria Heights. Has 21 goals and 18 assists this season.
* Paige Richter, Camp Hill Girls GolfSenior and Bucknell recruit shot a one-over 73 to win the PIAA Class AA state title by a stroke.
* Jontae Morris, Cedar Cliff (Camp Hill) FootballSenior running back carried the ball 39 times for 331 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-33 win over Milton Hershey. Has rushed for 1,482 yards and 19 touchdowns this season.
Previous Winners
Week 1 Pennsylvania High School Athletes of the Week
* Caden Smith, Franklin Regional (Murrysville) Football
Senior defensive back/receiver had three interceptions (returned one for a touchdown) and five tackles in a 41-12 win over Plum. Also completed his lone pass attempt on offense for a 64-yard touchdown.
* Griffin Buzzell, Meadville Football
Senior running back/linebacker balled out in a 50-48 loss to Grove City. Carried the ball 20 times for 192 yards and three touchdowns and registered 19 tackles on defense.
Week 2 Pennsylvania High School Athletes of the Week
* Brayden Kunselman, Brookville Football
Junior receiver caught seven passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-7 win over DuBois. Also had five tackles and an interception.
* Ezi Hite, Williams Valley (Tower City) Football
Junior defensive tackle had six tackles, including five sacks, and a forced fumble in a 24-16 win over Pine Grove. Has 17 tackles and seven TFL through two games.
* Cadin Olsen, Armstrong (Kittanning) Football
Junior quarterback accounted for six touchdowns in a 49-6 win over Deer Lakes. Completed 23-of-35 passes for 285 yards and five touchdowns and carried the ball seven times for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Week 3 Pennsylvania High School Athletes of the Week
* Erby Weller, Shippensburg Football
Junior caught seven passes for 204 yards and four touchdowns in a 47-20 win over Dover.
* Elliet Manning, East (West Chester) Volleyball
Junior has 175 assists total and 31-plus in each of her team's first five games (went 4-1).
Week 4 Pennsylvania High School Athletes of the Week
* John Adams, Minersville FootballSenior completed 15-of-21 passes for 399 yards and five touchdowns and carried the ball 13 times for 59 yards and a touchdown in a 47-24 win over Williams Valley. Has thrown for 1,086 yards and 12 touchdowns in four games.
* Carson Long, Philipsburg-Osceola (Philipsburg) Boys SoccerFreshman had eight assists and three goals in a 13-0 win over Tyrone, three goals and an assit in a 5-4 win over Saint Joseph's Catholic and an assist in a 1-0 win over Huntington. Has 11 goals and 10 assists in five games.
Week 5 Pennsylvania High School Athletes of the Week
* Emily Greenland, Lower Merion (Ardmore) VolleyballSenior setter had 46, 33 and 31 assists in wins over Downingtown East, Strath Haven and Penncrest. Has 255 assists in nine matches.
* Sophia Schweikert, Upper Merion Area (King of Prussia) VolleyballFreshman outside hitter had 27, 21, 20 and 15 kills in wins over Pope John Paul II, Owen J. Roberts, Lansdale Catholic and Owen J. Roberts, respectively. Has 227 kills in 14 matches.
Week 6 Pennsylvania High School Athletes of the Week
* Ron Prislupski, Holy Cross (Dunmore) Boys SoccerJunior had 11 goals and three assists in back-to-back wins over Mountain View. Has 36 goals and 10 assists in eight games.
* Cece Isenberg, Berwick VolleyballJunior had 28 kills in a win over Holy Redeemer and 23 kills in a win over Lake-Lehman. Has 187 kills in nine matches.
* Jeff Nyamekye, Red Lion FootballSenior receiver caught 14 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-7 win over Northeastern. Has caught 42 passes for 664 yards and four touchdowns in four games.
Week 7 Pennsylvania High School Athletes of the Week
* Tucker St. Peter, Cowanesque Valley (Westfield) FootballSenior receiver/defensive back had three interceptions and returned a punt for a touchdown in a 32-0 win over Wyalusing Valley.
* Samantha Wechsler, Susquenita (Duncannon) Girls SoccerJunior
forward had 10 goals and two assists las week in wins over Lebanon,
East Juanita and East Pennsboro and a loss to Cedar Cliff. Has 35 goals
and nine assists this season.
* Braden Scarvel , Sharpsville FootballJunior defensive lineman had 12 tackles, 7.5 tackles-for-loss and 4.5 sacks in a 34-6 win over Kennedy Catholic.
