Vote: The Des Moines Register Athletes of the Week for Nov. 12-18, sponsored by Iowa Ortho
This past week saw the Iowa high school football season conclude with state championship games in all seven classes.
Southeast Polk won its third Class 5A championship in a row with a dominant 49-21 victory over Ankeny on Friday, Nov. 17 at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. The other Friday championship games saw Van Meter also earn a three-peat with a 24-21 victory over Central Lyon/George-Little Rock in 2A and Williamsburg claim the 3A crown by blanking Bishop Heelan, 20-0.
On Friday, Nov. 16, Bishop Garrigan downed Bedford in the 8-player championship game by a 39-30 score. West Hancock edged Woodbury Central for the Class A title in a 30-28 classic, Grundy Center crushed MFL MarMac by a 42-0 score in the 1A championship game and Lewis Central won its second title in three years with a 40-21 victory over Western Dubuque.
Girls wrestling and basketball also got underway last week.
The opening week of girls wrestling was highlighted by the Central Iowa Kickoff Girls Wrestling Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 18, in Nevada. The Central Iowa Kickoff featured 34 scored teams and 409 wrestlers.
Several outstanding individual performances took place during the championship football and girls wrestling and basketball action.
Here are the Iowa Ortho female and male Athlete of the Week candidates for the week of Nov. 12-18. Register readers vote to determine the winners, who will be announced at the end of the week. You only need to register once, so come back each hour for easy voting.
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Girls
Harley Tobin, Algona
Tobin went 3-0 to place first at 105 pounds during the Central Iowa Kickoff Girls Wrestling Tournament Saturday.
All three victories came by fall. Tobin pinned Ames' Greta Goodman in the championship match.
Lexa Rozevink, Ames
Rozevink was dominant at 130 pounds during the Central Iowa Kickoff Girls Wrestling Tournament.
The Ames sophomore went 5-0 to take first at 130. She pinned all five of her opponents, including Creston's Evy Marlin in the championship match.
Haylee McGrew, Ankeny
McGrew was a force to be reckoned with at 155 during the Central Iowa Kickoff Girls Wrestling Tournament.
McGrew went 5-0 and scored a fall in every match to improve to 7-0 on the season and help Ankeny edge Raccoon River-Northwest for the Central Iowa Kickoff team championship. McGrew won her first four matches in 1:01 or less before pinning Earlham's Haley Glade in 5:01 during the championship match.
Cora Widel, Maquoketa
Widel had an explosive night for the Maquoketa girls basketball team during the Cardinal's 80-76 victory over Western Dubuque on Friday, Nov. 17.
Widel went off for 38 points after making 10 of 15 field goals, 6 of 9 3-pointers and 12 of 15 free throws. She added three rebounds and two assists and steals apiece.
Bailey Birmingham, Norwalk
Birmingham was unstoppable for the Norwalk girls basketball team during its 76-55 victory over Urbandale to open the season Friday.
Birmingham went for 31 points after making 11 of 22 field goals, including three 3-pointers, and 6 of 9 free throws. She also contributed four assists and steals apiece.
Boys
CJ Phillip, Southeast Polk
Phillip was unstoppable during Southeast Polk's championship victory over Ankeny Friday.
The Ram tailback ran for 149 yards and five touchdowns to cap a senior season that saw him rush for 1,088 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Brady Hetzel, Lewis Central
Hetzel torched Western Dubuque's secondary during Lewis Central's 4A championship victory.
The Titan quarterback completed 19 of 24 passes for 325 yards and four touchdowns and he also ran for a score.
Braylon Wetjen, Williamsburg
Wetjen did it all for Williamsburg during its shutout victory over Bishop Heelan in the 3A championship game.
The Raider receiver and defensive back caught six passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. He also intercepted three passes on defense.
Caleb Moore, Van Meter
Moore came up big when it mattered most during Van Meter's exciting victory over Central Lyon/George-Little Rock in the 2A championship game.
Moore made a clutch 21-yard reception on third down to keep Van Meter's eventual winning drive alive late in the fourth quarter. He then scored the winning touchdown during that same drive with a 9-yard touchdown run.
Tate Foertsch, Bishop Garrigan
Foertsch delivered when his team needed him the most during the 8-player championship game against Bedford.
The Bishop Garrigan quarterback completed 7 of 10 passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns. He added 82 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
The Des Moines Register's Athlete of the Week is underwritten by Iowa Ortho, which is not involved in the writing or editing of this story.
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: Des Moines Register Athletes of the Week for Nov. 12-18
