Vote: Ames Tribune Athletes of the Week for April 29-May 5
This past week saw Ames-area girls and boys track and field athletes close out the regular season and begin preparations for the state qualifying meets.
The regular seasons for area high school spring golf and tennis are also winding down and area soccer teams continued their seasons.
The Gilbert boys soccer team is ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, according to the Iowa High School Athletic Association, and the Tiger girls are rated No. 2 in 1A by the Iowa Girls Athletic Union. The Nevada girls are ranked No. 5 in 1A.
Here are the Ames Tribune's female and male Athlete of the Week candidates for the week of April 29-May 5. AmesTrib.com readers vote to determine the winners, who will be announced at the end of the week.
Girls
Olivia Axmear, Nevada
Axmear turned in an outstanding performance during the Heart of Iowa Conference girls golf meet held May 1 at the Lincoln Valley Golf Course in State Center.
Axmear shot a 4-over-par 76 through 18 holes. She won medalist honors by five strokes.
Brinley Carlson, Roland-Story
Carlson helped the defending 2A state champion Roland-Story girls golf team claim the championship at the HOIC meet.
Carlson was medalist runner-up with an 18-hole score of 81. Roland-Story shot a 337 as a team to beat Nevada by eight strokes for the conference championship.
Emee Dani, Gilbert
Dani won both the 1,500 and 3,000-meter running events for the Gilbert girls track team at the Raccoon River Conference track and field meet on May 1.
Dani completed the 1,500 in 4:57.66 and the 3,000 in 10:34.76. She also anchored Gilbert to victory in the distance medley relay with a time of 4:24.40.
Amaya Dassanayake, Ames
Dassanayake was part of two victorious matches for the Ames tennis team during a 7-4 loss to Waukee on Friday.
Dassanayake won the No. 3 singles match, overcoming a 6-4 loss in the opening set with a 6-3 victory in the second and she took the super tiebreaker, 1-0 (11-9).
In doubles play, Dassanayake teamed up with Adeline Oetker to win the No. 2 match over Waukee's team by 7-6 (7-2) and 6-4 scores.
Memphis Inglett, Ballard
Inglett was dominant on the tennis court for Ballard during a 9-0 victory over Nevada on April 29.
Inglett cruised to 6-0 and 6-1 victories in a sweep during the No. 5 singles match. In doubles play, Inglett joined forces with Payton Askelsen to win the No. 3 match by the same decisive 6-0 and 6-1 scores.
Boys
Preston Stensland, Gilbert
Stensland came up clutch for the Class 2A No. 1 Gilbert soccer team during a 3-1 victory over No. 10 Perry on May 2.
Stensland put two goals on the board to help keep the Tigers unbeaten on the year at 13-0.
Eleazar Martinez, Ames
Martinez came through in a big way for the Ames boys soccer team during a 2-1 victory over Mason City on Friday.
Martinez scored both goals for Ames to help the Little Cyclones improve to 9-5 on the season.
Chance Lande, Ballard
Lande won the open 400 and anchored Ballard to runner-up finishes in the sprint medley and 4x400 relays at the RRC track and field meet on May 1.
Lande ran a 50.38 in the 400 to beat teammate Jameson Witt, who took second in 50.66. The Ballard sprint medley team clocked in at 1:35.22 to finish runner-up to Adel-Desoto-Minburn's 1:34.78, and the Bomber 4x400 quartet finished in 3:25.46 to come in just behind North Polk's 3:25.01.
Parker Rodgers, Nevada
Rodgers won medalist honors by shooting a 75 for Nevada at the HOIC boys golf meet on April 30 at the Lincoln Valley Golf Course in State Center.
Charlie Bennett, Ames
Bennett helped the Ames boys track team win the 4x800 relay and took second in the open 800 during the Iowa Alliance Conference track and field meet Friday in Des Moines.
Bennett anchored the Ames boys 4x800 team to a winning time of 8:11.68. He finished the 1,600 in 4:30.52.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Vote: Ames Tribune Athletes of the Week for April 29-May 5
