Athlete of the week: Golden West's Danae Banuelos
Golden West High School girls basketball player Danae Banuelos was voted by readers as the Visalia Times-Delta Tulare County prep athlete of the week.
In an online poll that closed on Jan. 20, Banuelos received 8,411 votes, or a 45.6% majority, of the 18,504 responses.
Banuelos generated a squad-best 18 points as the Trailblazers downed Mt. Whitney in an East Yosemite League game. She also added six boards, six assists, four steals and five blocks.
Here's a look at past winners:
Jan. 6: Cole Gilcrest, Redwood basketball
Jan. 13: Janessa Garza, Farmersville 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.
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. 17-20:
Aeneas Ambriz, boys basketball, Strathmore: On his 17th birthday, Ambriz tallied 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals to help the Spartans defeat Orosi.
Shelley Andrade, girls basketball, Monache: Andrade had a team-high 14 points, connecting on 7 of 10 shots as the Marauders topped El Diamante in a key East Yosemite League game.
Danae Banuelos, girls basketball, Golden West: Banuelos generated a squad-best 18 points as the Trailblazers downed Mt. Whitney in a EYL game. She also added six boards, six assists, four steals and five blocks.
Israel Briggs, boys basketball, Mt. Whitney: Briggs dropped a team-high 12 points to spark the Pioneers to a EYL win over Porterville.
Sierra Calantas, girls basketball, Mission Oak: Calantas scored 12 points to lead the Hawks to a victory over Tulare Western in both teams' West Yosemite League opener.
Nevaeh Creason, girls basketball, El Diamante: Creason scored 25 points to direct the Miners to a victory against Redwood. She drained three triples in the EYL win.
Erick Estrella, boys basketball, Central Valley Christian: Estrella registered a double-double, scoring 28 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in the Cavaliers' win over Reedley.
Malachi Ficher, boys basketball, Tulare Western: Ficher exploded for a single-game, school-record 46 points to spark the Mustangs to a WYL victory versus Mission Oak.
Natalie Mcdonnell, girls soccer, Redwood: Mcdonell had two goals and an assist to ignite the Rangers to an EYL win against Porterville.
Preslee Schakel, girls soccer, CVC: A four-year starter at goalie, Schakel has registered 65 saves this season. She tallied 16 total saves in matches against Immanuel and Kerman.
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: Athlete of the week: Golden West's Danae Banuelos
