Update: Athlete of the week, Damion Bello

Vongni Yang, Visalia Times-Delta
·2 min read
Tulare Western's Damion Bello escapes the swipe of Porterville's Matthew Rivera in boys basketball on Friday, January 14, 2022.
Tulare Western's Damion Bello escapes the swipe of Porterville's Matthew Rivera in boys basketball on Friday, January 14, 2022.

Tulare Western High School boys basketball player Damion Bello was voted by readers as the Visalia Times-Delta Tulare County prep athlete of the week.

In an online poll that closed on Jan. 21, Bello received 824 votes, or a 45.5% majority, of the 1,817 responses.

Bello scored 16 points on Jan. 12 as the Mustangs topped Delano 65-55 in an East Yosemite League showdown.

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 prep athletes of the week at the newspaper's website www.visaliatimesdelta.com. The poll closes at noon on Friday.

Please do not email your votes.

Here are the choices for the week of Jan. 17-21:

  • Keith Bailey, boys basketball, Mt. Whitney. Bailey racked up 18 points, 11 rebounds and four assists on Jan. 13 to help the unbeaten Pioneers defeat Hanford 61-46 in a West Yosemite League game.

  • Damion Bello, boys basketball, Tulare Western. Bello scored 16 points on Jan. 12 as the Mustangs topped Delano 65-55 in an East Yosemite League showdown.

  • Paityn Bruce, girls soccer, Redwood. Bruce bagged a hat trick and dished an assist on Jan. 11 to lead the undefeated Rangers to a 10-0 rout of Lemoore.

  • Dane Odsather, boys basketball, Porterville. Odsather drained 30 points on Jan. 14 to spark the Panthers to a 72-49 win over Tulare Western.

Anyone (coaches, parents, teammates, teachers, friends, etc.) can nominate an athlete of the week for every sport.

Nominate next week's ballot through email to sports reporter Vongni Yang at vyang2@visaliatimesdelta.com.

Nominations are based on information made available to the Times-Delta. Please include statistics and a photo with your submission.

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

Vongni Yang is a sports reporter for the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register. He covers Tulare County sports. Follow him on Twitter @Vongni. To support his continued coverage of local sports, subscribe today.

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This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Update: Athlete of the week, Damion Bello