Tulare County athlete of the week: El Diamante's Kiersten Shade

Vongni Yang, Visalia Times-Delta
·2 min read
El Diamante's Kiersten Shade shoots between Monache's Shelley Andrade, left, and London Haynes in an East Yosemite League high school girls basketball game Friday, January 13, 2023.
El Diamante's Kiersten Shade shoots between Monache's Shelley Andrade, left, and London Haynes in an East Yosemite League high school girls basketball game Friday, January 13, 2023.

El Diamante High School girls basketball player Kiersten Shade was voted by readers as the Visalia Times-Delta Tulare County prep athlete of the week.

In an online poll that closed on Feb. 10, Shade received 9,657 votes, or a 44% majority, of the 22,016 responses.

Shade generated a double-double with 18 points, 17 rebounds, four steals and two assists in a win versus Redwood.

Here's a look at past winners:

  • Jan. 6: Cole Gilcrest, Redwood basketball

  • Jan. 13: Janessa Garza, Farmersville basketball

  • Jan. 20: Danae Banuelos, Golden West basketball

  • Jan. 27: Ava Ayon, Lindsay basketball

  • Feb. 3: Cooper Fish, Porterville basketball

Editor’s note: Anyone can nominate an athlete of the week for every sport. Nominate next week’s ballot through email. Readers can email nominations to sports reporter Vongni Yang at vyang2@visaliatimesdelta.com. Please include a player’s statistics and a photo if possible.

Mission Oak's Joaquin Torrez drives against Redwood in a non-league high school boys basketball game on Tuesday, December 6, 2022.
Mission Oak's Joaquin Torrez drives against Redwood in a non-league high school boys basketball game on Tuesday, December 6, 2022.

Original story: Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register readers can now vote for their favorite high school athletes at the newspaper's website, visaliatimesdelta.com. The poll closes on Friday.

Please do not email your votes.

Here are the choices for the week of Jan. 30 to Feb. 3:

  • Augusto De Castro, boys basketball, Exeter: De Castro registered 25 points and 12 rebounds in a win against Reedley.

  • Noah Murillo, boys wrestling, Mt. Whitney: Murillo placed first in his division to capture the East Yosemite League 126-pound individual title. He improved his record to 24-10.

  • Josiah Ochoa, boys basketball, Dinuba: Ochoa dropped 17 points to lead the Emperors (22-3, 5-2) to a 68-52 win over Tulare Western in a West Yosemite League game. He had five triples in the victory.

  • Caden Lloyd, boys basketball, Central Valley Christian: Lloyd scored the game-winning bucket on a putback as the Cavaliers defeated Washington Union. He finished with six points and four rebounds.

  • Kai Preisendorf, boys wrestling, Redwood: Preisendorf won the 222-pound EYL individual crown. He was named the EYL tournament's most outstanding upper-weight wrestler.

  • Shane Rodriguez, boys wrestling, Woodlake: Rodriguez captured the East Sequoia League individual championship at 145 pounds. He was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler.

  • Kiersten Shade, girls basketball, El Diamante: Shade generated a double-double with 18 points, 17 rebounds, four steals and two assists in a win versus Redwood.

  • Joaquin Torrez, boys basketball, Mission Oak: Torrez, a freshman, had 26 points, a rebound, three assists, and two steals against Lemoore.

Nominations are based on information available to the Times-Delta.

All high school varsity players from Tulare County are eligible to be on the ballot. Nominations must be received for consideration by Monday morning following that week's games.

Anyone can nominate an athlete of the week for every sport. Nominate next week’s ballot through email. Readers can email nominations to sports reporter Vongni Yang at vyang2@visaliatimesdelta.com. Please include a player’s statistics and a photo if possible.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Tulare County athlete of the week: El Diamante's Kiersten Shade