Byron basketball player voted as Rockford high school athlete of the week
Byron girls basketball player Ava Kultgen was voted as the Rockford Register Star athlete of the week.
Kultgen earned 58 percent of the 503 votes, beating Pecatonica basketball player Cooper Hoffman (19 percent). The full results are below.
Kultgen scored her 1,000th point last Tuesday during a 16-point game, and she had a season-high 21 points in Byron's 57-36 win over Aquin the next day. Kultgen averaged 16 points and seven rebounds and earned a spot on the all-tournament team as Byron rode the momentum and got off to a 5-0 start to the season by winning the Dakota Thanksgiving Tournament.
Voting for the next athlete of the week begins Tuesday. To nominate a player or group of players, email Jay Taft at jtaft@rrstar.com by 9 a.m. each Monday. Last week's winner was Winnebago girls basketball player Campbell Schrank, who earned 49% of the votes, beating Stillman Valley girls basketball player Mya Janssen.
More high school sports stories
How they became state champs: Lena-Winslow steamrolls to third straight Class 1A football state title
Inside the numbers: The 15 numbers that helped define Lena-Winslow's championship football season
Photos: A look at Lena-Winslow as it wins the IHSA Class 1A football championship
Power rankings: The top 10 high school boys basketball teams around Rockford
Hoops tipoff: 6 takeaways from the season-opening 205 Tip-off Classic basketball tournament
Christian Cummings, Rockford Christian basketball
Cummings helped cap off Rockford Christian's 4-0 start to the season by scoring 24 points during a 74-56 win over Sterling Newman on Saturday. The sophomore drained two of his three 3-pointers.
Gage Dunker, Lena-Winslow football
Dunker, a junior fullback, plowed forward for 120 yards and three touchdowns as Le-Win stomped on Camp Point Central 30-8 for the Class 1A state football title on Friday. Dunker also had a key interception in the game.
Henry Engel, Lena-Winslow football
Engel, a 6-foot-3, 255-pound senior lineman, was instrumental on both offense and defense as Le-Win snagged its third straight state title in football on Friday. Engel and the Panthers line were dominant on both sides of the ball in the title game.
Grant Gensler, Rochelle wrestling
The sophomore Gensler was the lone Hubs wrestler to earn a pair of pins as Rochelle went 2-0 in its opening dual meet last week, knocking off Burlington Central and state-ranked Dixon.
Walt Hill, Jr., Lutheran basketball
Hill drained eight 3-pointers in the first half of Lutheran's season-opening win over Freeport last week and went on to score 33 points in the Boylan Thanksgiving Tournament game, which was just the beginning for the Crusaders' senior leader. He had four 3s in the first quarter and went on to score 34 points in Lutheran's 92-76 win over St. Charles North later in the tourney, had four 3s and scored 21 points in another tourney win over Chicago Marshall, and scored 22 points, including the 1,000th point of his career, during the Crusaders' 74-70 loss to Boylan on Friday. Lutheran went 3-1 in the tourney.
Cooper Hoffman, Pecatonica basketball
Hoffman helped Pec get off to a 1-0 start with a 58-45 win over Winnebago on Saturday when he kicked things off by draining 6 of 10 shots, and his lone 3-pointer, while scoring 16 points. Hoffman also had six rebounds, five assists and three steals in the opener.
Randy Johnson, Jefferson basketball
Johnson scored 82 points in four games for Jefferson, which went 1-3 in the 205 Tip-off Classic last week.
Antonio Lewis, East basketball
Lewis scored a tournament-high 90 points in five games as East went 2-3 in the tip-off classic tourney. That included 17 points in a last-second 65-64 loss to tournament champions East St. Louis on Saturday, a game East led by 16 points in the first half.
Cole Warren, Hononegah basketball
Warren had 20 points and three steals in a 59-48 victory over Crystal Lake Central last week. Hononegah is off to a 1-3 start to the season.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years all together.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Results of athlete of the week poll: Byron girls basketball player
