Vote: Who should be the Tribune female and male Athletes of the Week for Sept. 24-30?
This past week in Ames-area high school football saw the Ames football team pick up its second victory of the season with a 62-23 homecoming rout of Ottumwa and Class 4A No. 2 Gilbert remain undefeated after outlasting Carlisle in a 33-29 4A District 4 overtime thriller at Gilbert Friday.
In other area high school football action Ballard upset 4A No. 8 North Polk in a 7-6 defensive battle at Alleman, Nevada posted a 43-0 homecoming shutout over Knoxville in 3A District 6 and Roland-Story stunned Greene County with a 62-31 rout of the Rams in Story City. In 8-player football Colo-NESCO posted a 46-0 shutout over English Valleys and Collins-Maxwell suffered a 62-32 loss at the hands of Baxter.
There were also several outstanding high school volleyball, girls and boys cross country, girls swimming and boys golf performances.
Here are the Tribune's female and male Athlete of the Week candidates for the week of Sept. 24-30. Tribune voters can vote on the winners, who will be announced at the end of the week.
Girls
Emee Dani, Gilbert
Dani, the No. 17 individual girls' cross country runner in Class 3A, led a Gilbert girls team ranked No. 2 in 3A to victory at the Nevada Invitational cross country meet Sept. 25 in Nevada.
Dani was the individual champion for the Tigers. She completed the 5-kilometer course in 20 minutes, 13 seconds to edge out teammate Keira Andreson by two seconds for the win.
Elizabeth Erickson, Colo-NESCO
In a race full of runners from larger schools, Erickson stepped up to place fourth as one of two Colo-NESCO runners competing in the varsity girls' race at the Nevada Invitational cross country meet.
Erickson crossed the finish line in 20:48 seconds.
Saylor Horras, Ames
Horras won both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle races for the Ames girls swimming and diving team during a triangular dual meet with Fort Dodge and West Des Moines Valley Sept. 26 at the Dan Flannery Pool in Ames.
Horras took first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 25.28 seconds. She won the 100 free in 55.25.
Madelyn Risdal, Roland-Story
Risdal stepped up serving the ball for the Roland-Story volleyball team during a lopsided 25-3, 25-7, 25-10 sweep over Saydel Sept. 28 in Story City.
Risdal tallied five aces on a 9 of 10 serving night. She also led a balanced Roland-Story offensive attack with five kills.
Ava Vance, Ballard
Vance won the varsity girls' race at the Leon Fox Cross Country Invitational at Perry Sept. 28 at Perry.
Vance, ranked No. 7 in 3A, finished the race in 19:59. She beat Adel-Desoto-Minburn freshman Addie Eggleston by 29 seconds for the victory.
Boys
Cameron Cantonwine, Ames
Cantonwine was fantastic at quarterback for the Ames football team during its homecoming victory Friday.
Cantonwine lit up Ottumwa with 253 yards and two touchdowns passing and 119 yards and two scores on the ground.
Connor Rash, Gilbert
Rash went without a turnover and he combined for 161 yards through the air and on the ground at quarterback during Gilbert's exciting victory over Carlisle.
Rash completed 5 of 11 passes for 76 yards and he ran for 95 yards and three of Gilbert's four touchdowns.
Kyle Kingsbury, Nevada
Kingsbury was a big weapon at receiver for Nevada during the Cubs' dominant homecoming victory over Knoxville.
Kingsbury made four receptions for 131 yards and three touchdowns.
Hesston Johnson, Roland-Story
Johnson was one of several Norsemen football players with big games during their high-scoring triumph over Greene County Friday.
Johnson ran the ball 18 times for 191 yards and three touchdowns and completed two passes for 30 yards and a score on offense. He also made nine tackles defensively.
Brody Sampson, Ballard
Sampson represents a great overall team defensive effort by the Ballard football team in keeping a potent North Polk team out of the end zone Friday.
Sampson made seven tackles and he also came up with a sack for the Bombers.
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: Tribune female and male Athlete of the Week candidates for Sept. 24-30
