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Horizon runner, Campo Verde flag football player voted Arizona Republic's HS athletes of the week

azcentral sports
·2 min read
Athletes of the Week
Athletes of the Week

Donovan Bitticks of Horizon High School and Maddie Coger of Campo Verde High School have been selected as The Arizona Republic's boys and girls athletes of the week, sponsored by Diamond Kitchen & Bath.

They were chosen by readers from among three nominees for each award in polls posted on azcentral.com on Monday, based on performances during the prior week.

Bitticks, who runs cross country at Horizon, was nominated after winning the sweepstakes race at the Sept. 29 Desert Twilight Cross Country Festival with a time of 15:10.3. The festival, which was held in Mesa, is one of the largest cross-country events in the Southwest, attracting an estimated 6,000 participants from Arizona and surrounding states.

Scottsdale Horizon senior Donovan Bitticks runs down the final straightaway on his way to a first-place finish in the Boys Sweepstakes race at the Desert Twilight Cross Country Festival at Toka Sticks Golf Course in Mesa on Sept. 29, 2023. Bitticks ran a personal best time of 15:10.3 on the 5,000-meter course.
Scottsdale Horizon senior Donovan Bitticks runs down the final straightaway on his way to a first-place finish in the Boys Sweepstakes race at the Desert Twilight Cross Country Festival at Toka Sticks Golf Course in Mesa on Sept. 29, 2023. Bitticks ran a personal best time of 15:10.3 on the 5,000-meter course.

Also nominated for the boys award were: Beau Devens, Canyon View football, who rallied his team to a 35-28 win over Cactus, completing 23 of 35 passes for 454 yards and 4 TDs; and Daniel Rowe, Notre Dame golf, who led the Saints (ranked No. 3 in D-II) to a win over Brophy (ranked No. 3 D-I) on Sept. 28, with a 2-under 70 at Camelback Golf Club's Padre Gourse.

More than 22,000 votes were cast in the boys' poll.

Coger, a receiver for Campo Verde's flag football team, had a combined 25 receptions for 449 yards and 2 TDs in two games last week against Williams Field and Eastmark. She became the first girls flag football player in AIA flag football to reach 1,000 receiving yards.

Campo Verde High School's Madison Coger (5) runs the ball during a flag football game against Canyon View High School at Campo Verde High School in Gilbert on Sept. 5, 2023.
Campo Verde High School's Madison Coger (5) runs the ball during a flag football game against Canyon View High School at Campo Verde High School in Gilbert on Sept. 5, 2023.

Other nominees for the girls' award were Kimi Cahoon, Phoenix Country Day cross country, who was the highest-placing Arizona female runner in the sweepstakes race at the Desert Twilight Cross Country Festival with a personal best time of 17:57.0; and Vivian Hickman, Xavier Prep volleyball, who had 66 kills in seven matches across two days, as the team went 6-1 in the Nike TOC at Legacy Park in Mesa.

More than 10,000 votes were cast in the girls' poll.

Nominees are based on performances in AIA-sanctioned sports for the previous week. Polls are posted Monday on azcentral.com and voting closes at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, with winners announced the next day on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic on Friday. Submit a weekly nominee at static.azcentral.com/sports/high-schools/nominations/).

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Donovan Bitticks of Horizon, Maddie Coger of Campo Verde Arizona Republic athletes of week