Tulare County athlete of the week: Golden West's Danae Banuelos

Golden West girls basketball player Danae Banuelos was voted by readers as the Visalia Times-Delta Tulare County high school athlete of the week.

In an online poll that closed on Nov. 24, Banuelos received 11,510 votes, or a 92.4% majority, of the 12,480 responses.

Banuelos turned in a double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Trailblazers to a 60-58 win over Tulare Western. She also had eight steals.

Here's a look at past winners from this school year:

• Avery Starr, Tulare Western volleyball

• Holden Benevento, El Diamante boys water polo

• Emma Taylor, El Diamante volleyball

• Ty Baxter, Monache football

• Faith Powell, Tulare Western volleyball

• Jazmaine Stewart, Farmersville volleyball

• Noeliah Zavala, Tulare Union golf

• Olivia Machado, Tulare Western girls water polo

• Areli Tobon, Mt. Whitney girls tennis

• Caden Ritchie, Central Valley Christian football

• Chi’el Sanchez, Tulare Western boys water polo

• Sonny Guess, Tulare Union football

• Brooklyn Bawanan, El Diamante girls cross country

Original story: Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register readers can now vote for their favorite high school athletes at the newspaper's website, visaliatimesdelta.com. The poll closes on Friday.

Please do not email your votes.

Here are the choices for the week of Nov. 20-24:

• Alberto Andrade, boys cross country, Monache: Andrade placed fourth as an individual at 16 minutes and 27.30 seconds to help the Marauders win the Central Section Division II team championship.

• Danae Banuelos, girls basketball, Golden West: Banuelos turned in a double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Trailblazers to a 60-58 win over Tulare Western. She also had eight steals.

• Malachi Ficher, boys basketball, Tulare Western: Ficher scored 21 points in a 51-42 loss to Sierra Pacific.

• Trent Greidanus, football, Central Valley Christian: Greidanus had a late interception that the Cavaliers turned into eight points to beat Tulare Union in a semifinal playoff game.

• Avery Hiemstra, girls basketball, Central Valley Christian: Hiemstra registered a double-double, racking up 20 points and 12 rebounds to help the Cavaliers defeat Summit Charter 48-32. She also dished six assists with four steals and a block.

More: Tulare County Titans: Al Branco

• Audrey Hyde, volleyball, Redwood: Hyde registered three aces, a block, 24 digs, 18 kills and 26 assists to lead the Rangers to a 25-16, 25-21, 21-25, 22-25, 15-10 win over Temple City in a state playoff game.

• Devin Ibarra, boys cross country, El Diamante: Ibarra placed first in the 2023 Central Section Division II championship meet at Woodward Park in Fresno, pacing the competition at 15 minutes and 49.61 seconds to win the individual title.

• Kenny Jackson, football, Mission Oak: Jackson rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown in the Hawks semifinal playoff victory.

• Javier Torres, boys basketball, Dinuba: Torres posted 18 points, eight rebounds and five steals to direct the Emperors to a 49-25 win over Mt. Whitney.

• Olivia Torres, girls basketball, El Diamante: Torres netted 17 points in a 70-18 rout of Garces. The Miners led 49-8 at halftime.

Nominations are based on information available to the Times-Delta.

All high school varsity players from Tulare County can be on the ballot. Nominations must be received for consideration by Monday morning following that week's games.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Tulare County athlete of the week: Golden West's Danae Banuelos