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Record Athlete of the Week: St. Mary's Ariel Nava

shannon mia belt, the record
·5 min read

The votes are in and Ariel Nava of St. Mary’s softball is the Record/Recordnet.com Athlete of the Week for May 14-20. In an online poll that closed on Friday, Nava received 45% of the votes cast for a total of 269 votes.

The senior pitcher was poised on the mound for the Rams in their Sac-Joaquin Section Division 2 quarterfinals matchup with local foe Bear Creek on May 18. She ended the game by striking out six batters and only allowed four hits. With Nava leading the charge, St. Mary’s held Bear Creek scoreless and won the game in the sixth inning 10-0.

Nava and the Rams weren’t able to get past Whitney in the next round of playoffs however, she ends her high school career as a top pitcher in the 209. She wracked up 174 Ks the most in the Tri-City Athletic League and the 12th most in the SJS. Her final record on the mound as a Ram is 16-4.

Ariel Nava, St. Mary's softball pitcher poses for a photo after Thursday's game against Lincoln at Lincoln High School.
Ariel Nava, St. Mary's softball pitcher poses for a photo after Thursday's game against Lincoln at Lincoln High School.

Here’s a look at the past winners:

  • Feb. 4: Janay Holmes, Weston Ranch girls basketball and Leo Ponce, St. Mary's boys soccer

  • Feb. 11: Cameron Silva, Manteca girls soccer and Mario Williams Jr., Venture Academy boys basketball

  • Feb. 18: Bryan Cuellar, Venture Academy boys soccer and Briseis Serrano, Lincoln wrestling

  • Feb. 25: Taydem Khamjoi, Chavez wrestling and Eli Terpsma, Ripon Christian boys basketball

  • March 4: Jordan Lee, St. Mary's girls basketball and Elijah Mobley, Weston Ranch boys basketball

  • March 18: Sophia Coronado, Kimball softball and Joel Van Groningen, Ripon Christian boys volleyball

  • March 25: Parker Burks, Franklin baseball

  • April 1: Andrew Wright, Lodi baseball

  • April 8: Beau Daluz, Linden baseball

  • April 15: Kenedi Brooks, Lodi softball

  • April 22: Nina Lagorio, Linden softball

  • April 29: Elysia Duarte, Kimball softball

  • May 6: Gianna Galli, Bear Creek softball

  • May 13: Savanna Berry, Lodi swimming

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: It’s time to vote for the Record/Recordnet.com Athlete of the Week for the week of May 14- 20.

Readers can vote for their favorite San Joaquin, Calaveras, and Amador counties athletes who have shined the previous week. Voting can be done at the newspaper’s website, recordnet.com. Share the link and vote for your favorite student-athlete!

Polls close on Thursday.

Ariel Nava, senior pitcher for St. Mary's softball poses for a photo after a game against Bear Creek on May 18.
Ariel Nava, senior pitcher for St. Mary's softball poses for a photo after a game against Bear Creek on May 18.

Here are the candidates for May 14-20 (athletes listed in alphabetical order):

  • Aiydan Bague, track and field, Venture Academy: As only a freshman, Bague has punched his ticket to the CIF State Meet in Fresno next week. At the Sac-Joaquin Masters Meet, Bague set a personal record in the high jump event to finish in third place. He beat out over 10 other top jumpers from the area.

  • Luke Crivello, baseball, Ripon Christian: Ripon Christian needed to win two games in a row to advance to the SJS Division 7 finals and Crivello answered the call. The junior led the Knights’ offense during their game on May 18 against Woodland Chrisitan. He ended the game with two hits, an RBI and a run to help his team win 8-5 and advance.

  • Yvette Harris, track and field, Lincoln: Harris has been a top hurdler in SJ County this season, which continued during the SJS Masters Meet on May 20. The senior took home gold in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.63 seconds. On top of that, Harris was a part of the Trojans’ 4x400 relay team that set the school's all-time record with a time of 3 minutes and 45 seconds.

  • Ariel Nava, softball, St. Mary’s: Nava played a shutdown game on the mound and at home plate when the Rams hosted Bear Creek for the SJS Division 2 quarterfinals on May 18. With three at-bats the senior finished with two hits and two runs. Defensively, she didn't allow the Bruins any runs while striking out six batters. This helped St. Mary’s to a 10-0 victory.

  • Michael Quedens, baseball, St. Mary’s: In a must-win game for the Rams against Whitney on May 17, Quedens was toeing the slab. The junior faced 17 at-bats and he whether the Wildcats’ offensive storm to help the Rams walk away with a 3-1 win. He struck out seven batters and only allowed three hits. Quedens played a key role in pushing the playoff series to three games.

  • Adonis Siga, track and field, Lathrop: After a stellar track and field season, Siga isn’t done yet. The hurdler will be advancing to the CIF State Meet following the SJS Masters on May 20. Siga took third place in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 38.45 seconds. The time didn’t just earn him bronze but it marks his personal record and school record for the event.

Athlete of the Week nominations are based on information available to The Record about all high school varsity players from San Joaquin, Calaveras and Amador counties. 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.

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: Record Athlete of the Week: St. Mary's Ariel Nava