Vote for the Ultimate Athlete of the Week for the 2021-22 school year
With the school year wrapping up and the end of the baseball and softball seasons bringing an end to the 2021-22 high school sports calendar and the News Herald's weekly Athlete of the Week feature until the fall, we're holding a vote for an Ultimate Athlete of the Week among fall, winter, and spring sports.
There were 35 athletes from 12 different sports that were voted Athlete of the Week during the school year – 12 boys and 23 girls – with Arnold claiming the most winners with 13, followed by Mosley with eight, North Bay Haven with five, Rutherford with four, Bozeman with three, and Bay High with two.
For this poll, we take the top 10 vote-getters throughout the school year and nominate them for the Ultimate Athlete of the Week, with readers able to vote through 12 p.m. on Friday, May 27.
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Skye Coan, eighth grader, Bozeman girls soccer
Coan is tied for the youngest Athlete of the Week winner of the year, winning for the week of Dec. 11 after scoring five games for the Bucks in an 8-0 victory over Franklin County.
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Coan had a terrific season for the Bucks, leading the team in scoring with 14 goals in 17 games. She also had a four-goal performance in a 7-0 victory over Rutherford.
Nautica Bouie, sophomore, Rutherford girls basketball
Bouie didn't actually win Athlete of the Week but still finished with the second-most votes of any athlete this year, finishing just 186 votes behind Coan for the week of Dec. 11 after averaging 21.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and four steals per game in four Rams victories while shooting 56.7 percent from the field.
Bouie led the Rams in scoring with 16.8 points per game this season, adding six rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.6 steals per contest for the season.
Samantha Velasquez, junior, North Bay Haven softball
Velasquez won Athlete of the Week for the week of April 2 after pitching a complete game and allowing just two earned runs on seven hits and a walk with two strikeouts in a win over Port St. Joe while also going 1 for 4 with a double and two RBI at the plate.
Velasquez batted .333 for the season with six doubles, two triples, and 25 RBI while winning 11 games in the circle and posting a 5.10 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 104.1 innings.
Hunter Dye, senior, Mosley boys golf
Dye was the first Athlete of the Week winner of the school year, taking it on the week of Aug. 28 after being the individual medalist at Mosley's match against Fort Walton Beach at Bay Point Golf Course, shooting an even par 36 in the nine hole event.
Dye finished third in the District 1-2A tournament, 14th in the Region 1 tournament, and 40th at the state tournament.
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Sage Mickey, senior, Arnold softball
Mickey won for the week of March 5 after batting .550 (11 for 20) with a home run, four doubles, three RBI, nine runs, and three stolen bases over five games for the Marlins.
The 2021 County Player of the Year had another impressive season as a senior, batting .494 with six home runs, 12 doubles, two triples, 30 RBI, 48 runs (third most in the state), and 36 stolen bases.
Gracie Lewis, sophomore, Mosley softball
Lewis finished just 473 votes behind Mickey in the voting for the week of March 5 after batting .500 (10 for 20) with four home runs, three doubles, 15 RBI, and 10 runs over six games for the Dolphins.
She hit .466 for the season with four home runs, five doubles, two triples, 26 runs, and 25 RBI while also going 5-2 in the circle with a 3.33 ERA and 65 strikeouts against 14 walks in 73.2 innings.
Zayna September, freshman, Arnold golf
September won for the week of Oct. 30 after leading the Marlins to the girls' District 1-2A title at Panama Country Club as the low individual medalist with a score of 73.
September went on to finish 20th at the region tournament and 47th at state.
Alexandra Johnson, senior, Bay High volleyball
Johnson was voted Athlete of the week for the week of Sept. 25 for posting 17 total kills in two matches for the Tornadoes, including 10 kills in a four-set loss to Marianna, while also adding 25 total digs over the two games, as well as five aces, and 29 serve receives.
Johnson finished her senior season with a team-best 179 kills, 214 digs, and 346 serve receives. She also led Bay with 56 aces and 122 service points.
Alex Steen, senior, Arnold basketball
Steen was the winner for the week of Feb. 5 after averaging 22 points per game in two outings for the Marlins, including a 26-point performance in a 64-52 victory over Poplar Springs.
Steen earned First Team All-County honors for the second straight year after putting in 22.6 points and 12.8 rebounds per game on 54 percent shooting from the field.
Jordan Whitely, senior, Mosley football
The only football player on the list and one of just two football players to win Athlete of the Week, Whitely won the vote for the week of Nov. 13 after notching eight tackles, including a tackle for loss and a sack, with a forced fumble and a recovered fumble in the Dolphins' 52-35 playoff victory over Gulf Breeze.
Whitely finished third on the team in tackles as a senior despite playing in just eight games, making 68 total stops, including 12 tackles for loss, and notching eight sacks.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Vote: Panama City News Herald Ultimate Athlete of Week for school year
