Time to vote! Who should be the PNJ Athlete of the Week for March 18-23?
It's time for another round of the Pensacola News Journal Athlete of the Week!
Vote early and vote often, as the polls will be open until Saturday at 11 a.m. Each weekly winner will be awarded a one-of-a-kind PNJ Athlete of the Week shirt provided by BSN SPORTS. The poll is exclusively on PNJ.com.
Winners will be contacted early next week after the poll closes.
Nominees are accepted via email or phone, but will be selected by staff in the absence of submission. The poll is decided by the PNJ sports staff and finalized the Sunday before the poll opens.
Note: Is your team or sport missing from Athlete of the Week? Be sure to file statistics with PNJ staff or keep your MaxPreps page up to date.
Ben Grieco can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) or via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.
Baseball, Vaughn Howard (Pensacola Catholic): The Crusaders had a perfect week. Literally. They won all four of their games in the Aggie Classic, beating three different teams from Oklahoma in the process. Three of those wins came by mercy rule. During the week, Howard tallied a total of seven hits (three doubles, one home run), seven RBIs and six runs to push to an 11-1 record entering the week of March 25.
Softball, Shelby Zigler (Central): The Jaguars had three dominant wins during the week, winning all three contests in just three innings each. Zigler, an eighth-grader, showed strength as a two-way player for Central. Zigler threw a complete three-inning game to start the week with five strikeouts, allowing no hits or runs. She also tallied a hit with two runs. Zigler also had a multi-hit game against Pensacola, tallying two hits with four runs and four RBIs. In the third game, Zigler tacked on a hit with three runs and three RBIs, and also pitched two innings with six strikeouts.
Flag football, Amaya Pablo (Pace): Pablo's arm continued to excel individually for the Patriots. Even though Pace went 1-2 on the week, Pablo still stood out at quarterback. In the Patriots' win over Tate, Pablo threw for 288 yards and four touchdowns, adding 19 yards rushing. She also had a four-yard reception for a touchdown, adding a tackle and an interception. In the loss to Navarre, Pablo threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns, tallying a pair of tackles and an interception. Stats from the loss to Florida High on Saturday weren't reported.
Boys lacrosse, Bennett Rauscher (Pensacola Catholic): In an undefeated week, Rauscher kept his prolific goal-scoring up for the Crusaders. In a shutout over Booker T. Washington, Rauscher scored twice before posting five points (4 goals, 1 assist) against Burroughs in an overtime win. In two games over the weekend, Rauscher scored 10 goals against teams in the St. Augustine area.
Girls lacrosse, Julia Frosch (Pensacola Catholic): The Crusaders' junior continues to put up some big offensive numbers. Frosch led Pensacola Catholic with nine points (2 goals, 7 assists) in an 18-0 shutout over Navarre to start the week. She added five points (4 goals, 1 assist) against rival Gulf Breeze despite being "face-guarded" by Gulf Breeze defenders, Dolphins head coach Ken McIlhenny said. Stats from the Crusaders' weekend in the Jacksonville/St. Augustine area, where they went 1-1, were not reported.
Boys tennis, Brady Wilkes (Gulf Breeze): The Dolphins won two matches heading into spring break, and Wilkes went undefeated throughout the week. Wilkes won first singles (8-2) against Navarre, and paired up with Frankie Smith to take first doubles over the Raiders. In the match vs. Booker T. Washington, Wilkes took third singles (8-1) before winning second doubles with Smith.
Girls tennis, Ariel Peterson (Jay): Peterson showed some tennis dominance as an eighth-grader, going undefeated in three matches with the Royals this week. Against Flomaton (Alabama), Peterson shut out her opponent in second singles (8-0), and paired up with Ansley Steele to win first doubles. Peterson defeated her opponent from Excel (Alabama), 8-3, before winning second doubles with Lanie Stephens. Peterson swept the week with an 8-2 win over East Hill Christian in third singles, while also winning second doubles with Kenley Smith..
Boys track and field, Therron Percival (Pensacola Christian Academy): At a meet among some of the best track and field athletes in Florida, Percival continued to show prowess in the pole vault at the FSU Relays in Tallahassee. Percival placed in a tie for fifth, clearing a height of 13 feet, 11.25 inches. He was less than an a foot behind third place.
Girls track and field, Payton Kanis (Pace): Also in the pole vault, Kanis earned a top finish at the FSU Relays in Tallahassee. Kanis claimed sold possession of seventh place with a height of 11 feet, 5.75 inches, six inches behind a tie for third place in the event.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: PNJ Athlete of the Week poll for the week of March 18-23 now open
