Martin Dentistry Athlete of the Week: Linden's Morgan Reihl
San Joaquin County voted and the Martin Dentistry Athlete of the Week for the week of Feb. 5-11 is Morgan Reihl of Linden High School. In an online poll that closed on Friday, Reihl received close to 93% of votes cast for a total of 4,743 votes.
The sophomore gymnast marks the first-ever gymnastics athlete to win the Athlete of the Week honor after shinning in recent competition. She is currently competing through Royal Gymnastics out of Tracy and on Feb. 5 she punched her ticket to the 2024 Nastia Liukin Cup on Feb. 25. At the Classic Rock Invitational in Phoneix, Reihl finished at the top of the junior division.
She scored a 9.400 in the vault event, a 9.350 in the uneven bars, 9.500 in the floor exercise, and her highest score of the night was a 9.800 on the balance beam. Reihl ended the invitational with a 38.050 all-around score edging out her competition by 0.025 to earn a junior qualification to the 16th Nastia Liukin Cup. She will look to continue to shine on the big stage on Feb. 25.
Here’s a look at the past winners:
Aug. 26: Samson Hunkin, St. Mary's football
Sept. 2: Eliana Williams, St. Mary's girls' volleyball
Sept. 9: Landen Ly, Linden, football
Sept. 6: McKenna McIntosh, St. Mary's girls' volleyball
Sept. 23: Matthew Schallberger, Linden, football
Sept. 30: Sophia Martin, Escalon, girls' volleyball
Oct. 7: Keely Hummel, St. Mary's, girl's volleyball
Oct. 14: Taylor Zalunardo, Sierra, girls' flag football
Oct. 21: Katie Martin, Ripon, girls' golf
Oct. 29: Kaydence Bispo, St. Mary's, girls' volleyball
Nov. 5: Dax Weber, Linden, football
Nov. 12: Reyna Biedermann, Ripon, girls' water polo
Nov. 19: Asante Carter, St. Mary's, football
Nov. 26: Emma Gilmore, Sierra, girls' basketball
Dec. 3: Nylah Dyson, East Union, girls' basketball
Dec. 10: Ricardo Velasquez, Weston Ranch, boys' soccer
Dec. 17: Mario Rodriguez, Linden, boys' soccer
Jan. 7: Jaden Ryan, Kimball, boys' basketball
Jan. 14: Landon Gillespie, Ripon, boys' basketball
Jan. 21: Donez Lindsey, Lincoln, boys' basketball
Jan. 28: Mateen Rafiq, Weston Ranch, boys' basketball
Feb. 4: Destiny Martinez, Stagg, girls' basketball
Editor's Note: Anyone can nominate an athlete of the week for every sport. Nominate next week’s ballot through email. Readers can email nominations to sports reporter Shannon Belt at sbelt@recordnet.com. Please include the player's stats and a photo if possible.
Original story: The Martin Dentistry Athlete of the Week poll is back open as the Record is in search of another standout 209 athletes.
Teams across San Joaquin County have wrapped up regular season play this past week and now the focus is on playoffs. For boys and girls soccer the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs kicked off from Feb. 9-10. Basketball and wrestling are still waiting for playoff brackets to be set in stone.
No matter what stage these teams are in, these six athletes have stood out among the rest to help bring home big wins for their team.
This week’s poll will include athletes from the following winter sports: girls' basketball, boys' basketball, girls’ soccer, gymnastics, and boys’ soccer. The poll can be found at the bottom of the story and closes on Friday.
Here are the candidates for Feb. 5-11 (athletes listed in alphabetical order):
Angel Barajas, boys’ soccer, Lathrop: The Spartans were on the road in the first round of the SJS Division 3 playoffs taking on a familiar foe Kimball. Despite a neck-and-neck first half, Barajas provided a spark off the bench scoring the game-winning goal in the second half. His goal helped avenge Lathrop’s preseason loss to the Jaguars and punch their ticket to the quarterfinals.
Jordan Lee, girls’ basketball, St. Mary’s: Lee notched her 2,000th career point in St. Mary’s rivalry showdown against Lincoln on Feb. 8. The 6-foot senior guard dropped a team-high 30 points to lead the Rams to 54-41 victory over the Trojans. With Lee leading the charge, St. Mary’s took home the W and the Tri-City Athletic League championship.
Darrion Lilly, boys’ basketball, Weston Ranch: When the Cougars traveled to the No. 1 ranked Modesto Christian, upsetting the Crusaders was the only thing on Lilly’s mind. The junior dropped 20 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds during the game. He played a crucial role in the biggest upset of the season as Weston Ranch would beat Modesto Christian 73-61.
More: Lathrop boys soccer upset Kimball to advance to SJS D3 quarterfinals
Giovanni Perez, boys’ soccer, East Union: Perez was the guy in the Lancers SJS Division 3 first-round playoff match against Roseville on Feb. 9. He scored all three of his team’s goals to help them beat the Tigers 3-0. Perez will look to continue to lead East Union offensively in the quarterfinals versus No.1 seed Valley.
Morgan Reihl, gymnastics, Linden: Reihl has had a stellar year of competitive gymnastics through Royal Gymnastics in Tracy. On Feb. 7, the sophomore competed in the Classic Rock Gymnastics Invitational in Phoenix and she finished atop the junior division thanks to her stellar performance on the beam. She garnered a 9.800 beam score which helped her edge out all her opponents.
Janelli Villagran, girls’ soccer, Franklin: In the Yellowjackets' final game of the regular season against Weston Ranch, Villagran was near unstoppable. She found the back of the net three times scoring three of Franklin’s five goals. The 5-1 win over the Cougars helped secure third place in the San Joaquin Athletic Association and an SJS Division 1 playoff berth.
Athlete of the Week nominations are based on information available to The Record about all high school varsity players from San Joaquin County. Nominations must be received for consideration by Monday morning following that week's games.
Anyone can nominate an athlete of the week for every sport. Nominate next week’s ballot via email. Readers can email nominations to sports reporter Shannon Belt at sbelt@recordnet.com. Please include the player's stats and a photo if possible.
More: Jennifer Hudson surprises McNair football coach with tickets to Super Bowl LVIII
Record reporter Shannon Belt covers sports. She can be reached at sbelt@recordnet.com or on Twitter @ShannonBelt3. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Martin Dentistry Athlete of the Week: Linden's Morgan Reihl
