KJCCC Conference Athletes of the Week, Week 16, 2021
(KJCCC) May 12, 2021 – Big-time plays and high-performance days by our conference athletes have led to recognition in Week 14 of the KJCCC Athletes of the Week voting. Congrats to all these winners cited below.
Football Athletes of the Week
No athletes nominated this week.
Division II Men's Soccer Athletes of the Week
Jordan Mase, Allen, has ten goals and four assists on the year. This week he scored four goals in two games, Mase is the team captain and leads both on and off the field. He led the Red Devils to two wins this week to at least clinch a share of the conference/region/district title.
Ajay Murray, Allen, recorded two more shutouts this week to make his shutout total 8 out of 10 games. He comes up very big when needed to make a save. He does an excellent job of commanding the box and stopping the other teams from getting goal scoring opportunities.
Division II Women's Soccer Athletes of the Week
Player: Quemberli Merida (Pratt)
Quemberli Merida was a vital player against Hesston, scoring twice with four shots on goal. Coming from a goal down, Merida continued to put the back line and goalkeeper under pressure, and helped the Beavers secure the win.
Goalkeeper: Paige Strausberg (Pratt)
Paige Strausberg has continued to show her value between the posts, coming up with five saves against Central. Paige also had six saves against Hesston, scoring the first goal for the Beavers on Saturday via a punt from her own box.
Division I Men's Soccer Athletes of the Week
Coffeyville Red Raven freshman forward Miguel Da Silva had an outstanding week for the Red Ravens scoring a goal in a loss vs Neosho and then scoring the three-goal hat trick against undefeated and #3-ranked Cowley in a 4-3 overtime loss. For the week, Da Silva scored four goals for 8 pts.
Yuki Nishigaki orchestrated his sixth shutout helping 17th ranked Barton to a 0-0 tie over a scrappy Dodge City squad. The Conquistadors placed seven shots on target with Nishigak stopping all attempts.
Division I Women's Soccer Athletes of the Week
Player: Annika Gerdau (Barton)
Annika Gerdau scored a pair of goals for the week helping Barton to a 2-0 week. Netting a game winner, in Wednesday's 2-1 win over Dodge City, Gerdau delivered another net rattler in helping Barton to a 4-0 route on the road at Butler while adding an assist tallying five points for the week.
Goalkeeper: Nia Baker (Barton)
Freshman Nia Baker improved her record to 7-3-1 in goal this season turning back five of her six shots faced in Barton's 2-0.
Division I Softball Athletes of the Week
Player: Madi Young (Butler)
Madi Young, sophomore from Derby, KS, hit .684 this past week leading the No. 3-ranked Grizzlies to their fifth-straight Region VI Championship. Young went 13-19 from the plate during the week and was 11-15 during Region VI action over the weekend. Young scored 10 runs, drove in eight, had two doubles, two triples, a home run, and stole 10 bags. Young has yet to been struck throughout her entire collegiate career. From her fielding position, Young was perfect recording eight putouts while assisting on eight outs. Young leads the entire NJCAA in runs (103), doubles (32), stolen bases (57) and is third in the NJCAA in hits (93), batting avg. (.564), and on-base % (.616).
Pitcher: Maddie Redman (Butler)
Maddie Redman, sophomore pitcher from Stillwell, KS, remained perfect in the circle for the No. 3-ranked Grizzlies picking up four wins on the week and three in the Region VI Tournament as Butler won their fifth-straight Region VI title. Redman pitched a total of 19 innings on the week allowing just two runs off 12 total hits. She did not give up a walk and struck out 32 total batters. She had a season high 15 strikeouts on Saturday in the Grizzlies 3-2 win over Garden City. Redman had an ERA of 0.93 throughout Region VI play in her 15 tournament-innings pitched.
Division II Softball Athletes of the Week
KJCCC Division II Softball Player of the Week
Katie Enneking, Johnson County Freshman Leftfielder, Overland Park, KS - Johnson County freshman Katie Enneking batted .667 (6-for-9) with two doubles, a home run, five runs scored and five driven in last week to help the Lady Cavaliers sweep the series at Kansas City Kansas. She also was a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen bases. In the opener, Enneking had a double, a solo home run and scored twice in a 6-0 win. She followed with four hits including a double, three runs and four RBI in a 17-9 win.
KJCCC Division II Softball Pitcher of the Week
Kyla Etter, Johnson County Freshman Pitcher, Eudora, KS - Johnson County freshman right-handed pitcher Kyla Etter earned two victories last week, including a complete game shutout over Kansas City Kansas. She allowed just three hits over seven innings without a run, and struck out seven batters. In the second game she was called upon to shut down the Blue Devils' offense. She pitched the final 3 2/3 innings, allowing just one run off three hits to earn the victory. Etter currently leads the conference with an ERA of 2.40. She also ranks sixth in strikeouts with 103, second in K/7 at 7.26 and sixth in wins with 13.
Baseball Athlete of the Week
Zach Thornton continued his strong stretch on the bump for the Barton Cougars, tossing his third shutout over his last four starts. Thornton scattered three hits over seven frames walking a pair and struck out five Cloud County T-Birds.
Coffeyville Red Raven sophomore first basemen Trey McClelland hit .600 on the week and got on base in 12 of 18 plate appearances to lead the ravens in a series win over Kansas City KS. He scored 9 runs against KCK in the 4-game series. McClelland also hit three home runs for a total of 15 on the year, which broke the school record for home runs in a season. He is now hitting .404 for the conference season.