Penn's Lily Christianson wins South Bend Tribune Athlete of the Week, Dec. 11-17, 2023
In another close vote, Penn senior girls swimmer Lily Christianson edged New Prairie sophomore wrestler Jeff Huyvaert to win the South Bend Tribune Athlete of the Week vote for Dec. 11-17, 2023.
Christianson received 38% of the vote to win, with Huyvaert at 33%.
Here is more on those two, plus our other five nominees from this past week.
WINNER: Penn girls swimming senior Lily Christianson
Christianson continues to add to her already decorated career. She led the Kingsmen to four team wins this week, including at the competitive Fort Wayne Carroll Invitational Saturday where she set four meet records at. She also set four new pool records at Concord Thursday, the most one athlete can get on a given night.
More: Penn sets five pool records in latest show of dominance vs.Concord, New Prairie
RUNNER-UP: New Prairie wrestling sophomore Jeff Huyvaert
Huyvaert had an incredible 67 takedowns across five matches at the Munster Super Duals Saturday, more than 13 a match on average to set a program record. He won all four of his matches, helping the Cougars win the team title at the event.
OTHER NOMINEES
Goshen boys basketball senior Gage Worthman
Worthman had 15 points and eight rebounds in a 63-52 win over South Bend Clay Tuesday. He followed that up with a career-high 31 points against Northridge Saturday, albeit in a 68-62 loss to the Raiders.
More: Why Northridge's win over Goshen shows NLC will be a 'slobber knocker' this season
Northridge boys basketball junior Mason Bales
Bales had two clutch performances this week. He made two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining to beat South Bend Riley, 42-41, Tuesday. Then, on Saturday, he scored 17 of his team-high 22 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Raiders to a comeback win over Goshen.
More: A new team tops the South Bend Tribune boys basketball power rankings this week
NorthWood boys basketball junior Tyler Raasch
Raasch had two solid outings for the Panthers this week, scoring 11 points and nine rebounds in a 33-32 win over Jimtown Tuesday and totaling 16 points and 11 rebounds in a 58-46 victory over Plymouth Friday.
South Bend Riley wrestling senior Justin Smith
Smith had a big weekend, going 4-0 with four pins to win the 215-pound weight class at the Twin Lakes Invitational. He helped the Wildcats win the overall team title in the process.
South Bend Washington girls basketball junior Kira Reynolds
Reynolds had three strong showings this week. She finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a win over Elkhart Tuesday; 14 points, 14 rebounds and six assists in a win over Glenn Thursday; and 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five blocks in a 71-61 loss to a good Western Reserve Academy (OH) team as part of a showcase event near Detroit, Michigan.
H.S. polls: South Bend Washington, Northridge make both boys, girls basketball rankings
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Penn's Lily Christianson wins South Bend Tribune Athlete of the Week
