The contest will be taking a short hiatus during the end of 2025. Rest assured we are continuing to monitor local athletes and hope you continue to let us know who should be nominated as we enter 2026.
Here’s a look back at who you chose as Athlete of the Week winners.
Aug. 4-10: Vera Cox, Greenville golf
Cox was nominated after shooting a career-best 72 at the Lady Bucc Invitational on Aug. 4 at Echo Hills Golf Course in Piqua. She was the medalist at the Versailles Lady Tiger Invitational on Aug. 8 at Stillwater Valley Golf Club in Versailles.
“I’ve been putting really well recently,” she said. “I’ve put in a lot of work on that and that’s what’s been working best for me.
“I’m really focusing on staying present and in the moment and doing the best I can.”
Aug. 11-17: Camryn ‘Shady’ Camacho, Oakwood soccer
Camacho was nominated after having a clean sheet with seven saves in a 3-0 victory over Chaminade Julienne in their season opener on Aug. 16.
“They were doing such a great job of covering areas that the shots I was getting weren’t as strong as they could have been without my defense,” Camacho said. “It was my team’s communication and where they were (on the field). It was easy to tell people where to be, and I just was lucky enough to get my hands and body behind the ball.”
She got her nickname “Shady” at a young age and it stuck. Her mother Traci Camacho said the majority of people in the Oakwood community may not even know her real name.
Aug. 18-24: Kai Ricks, Greenon football
Ricks was nominated after he rushed for 185 yards and four touchdowns as the Knights beat Shawnee 34-14 in Springfield on Aug. 22.
“It’s definitely a blessing,” Ricks said. “I appreciate it. After seeing all the great teams and players that showed out and did some great things, it was definitely an honor to see that I was able to win.”
Aug. 25-31: Brooklyn Bromagen, Valley View volleyball
Bromagen was nominated after she had 26 aces with one serving error in leading the Spartans to a 4-0 record on the week. She had 11 aces in a win at Carlisle and had 10 more in a win over Middletown Madison.
Bromagen started playing volleyball in elementary school and admittedly “wasn’t really good,” she said. She stuck with it and surrounded herself with great players and coaches, she said.
“I honestly feed off of the energy and the games that we were playing where I got those aces; they were very energized games,” Bromagen said. “The environment was very loud, the student sections were going crazy, so I just kind of feed off of that energy. That’s kind of where I thrive.”
Sept. 1-7: Turner Lachey, Lehman Catholic football
Lachey was nominated after he threw for 422 yards and five TDs as the Cavaliers beat Fort Loramie 43-24 on Sept. 5.
“The games definitely slowed down a lot,” Lachey said. “Last year it was just really fast. This year it’s slowed down.”
“Our line is stepping up and is giving me time,” Lachey said, “and we have really good receivers that get open.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Sept. 8-14: Aiden Kirkpatrick, Troy football
Kirkpatrick was nominated after he rushed for a career-high 143 yards and two TDs and threw for another 139 yards as the Trojans beat Piqua 28-7 in the 141st game between the two rivals.
“First of all, our coaches do a great job of using me to my strengths and are always putting me in a great position,” Kirkpatrick said. “My offensive line is very good. All my other skill positions that I throw to - I think I threw to 10 different receivers in my last game - we have a lot of great athletes.”
Sept. 15-21: Charlotte Spaide, Lehman Catholic tennis
Spaide was nominated after she won 16 straight matches to finish the regular season, including tournament victories at the Miami Valley Tennis Coaches Association Coaches Cup and the Valley View Invitational.
“It’s definitely a big accomplishment,” Spaide said. “I’ve worked really hard this season and I’m glad to see it paying off.”
This summer, Spaide trained two hours a day to improve her skills, including weightlifting, she said. “I’ve put a lot of time, a lot of energy and a lot of effort into this and it feels good (to perform well),” Spaide said.
Sept. 22-28: Sally Altenburg, Oakwood soccer
Altenburg was nominated after playing a key role in her team’s defensive success that allowed just three goals through 15 matches.
A four-year starter, Altenburg said she’s much more confident than she was as a freshman.
“I think it helps that this year we have so many seniors,” Altenburg said. “I think that’s contributed a lot because overall, we’re a lot more confident, and we trust each other more playing together, especially because we’ve played together since we were in grade school. So I feel like we’re more confident and able to play with each other better.”
Sept. 29-Oct. 5: Teagan Henry, Greenon football
Henry was nominated after he went 9-for-12 for a career-high 283 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for a 4-yard touchdown as Greenon beat Cedarville 54-22 on Oct. 3.
“I’m more excited that we got the win and that we played well as a team, but I’m happy I got this award, too. It’s nice,” he said.
“We knew we had to make changes, and that just started in the offseason with everybody getting stronger,” Henry said. “When it comes to the scheme and all that, it’s just knowing your plays and executing what coach tells us to. When we’ve executed, we’ve won almost all the games. We know that when we do that, we win.”
Oct. 6-12: Evan O’Leary, Lehman Catholic football
O’Leary was nominated after he caught 18 passes for 393 yards and four touchdowns in the Cavaliers 48-27 victory over Bethel on Oct. 10. The performance set a state record for receiving yards in a game, according to the OHSAA’s unofficial record book.
“We’ve got a really good quarterback (senior Turner Lachey) that knows the game of football really well, and the line did a really good job of keeping our quarterback safe and letting him just play his game,” O’Leary said. “The other receivers blocked really well when I got those short passes, and it was really a team effort for the success of that night.”
“I knew I had a pretty good amount of yards, but I didn’t really expect to hear that I had 393,” O’Leary said.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Oct. 13-19: Conner Eyink, Mechanicsburg football
Eyink was nominated after he wrapped up his senior season as a golfer with a 15th place finish at the Division III Boys Golf State Tournament on Oct. 14, scoring a two-day total of 157. He then caught eight passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns against Northeastern on the football field on Oct. 17.
“Going from state for golf and competing really hard at an awesome course is a great way to end the season, and then the next day having to come to football and dominate two practices before getting ready for Friday, it’s tough to do but it’s manageable,” Eyink said.
Oct. 20-26: Isaiah Thompson, Wayne football
Thompson was nominated after he ran for 123 yards on 25 carries with a touchdown and caught a 20-yard pass on offense and scored another touchdown on a 58-yard interception return in a win against Centerville on Oct. 24.
An eight-yard touchdown run in the second quarter against Centerville gave his a 20-13 lead it wouldn’t relinquish. It was his pick-six that followed which helped change the momentum near halftime and propel his side to the win.
“Throughout the week our coaches said they like to throw to the boundary side, so once I knew he snapped the ball I read his eyes and saw him turn toward me and the ball came out, I knew I had to catch that,” Thompson said. “Soon as I caught it, I was ready to get into the end zone and celebrate with my teammates.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Oct. 27-Nov. 2: Isaiah Christian, Cedarville football
Christian was nominated after he ran for 206 yards on 23 carries with three touchdowns and caught a 5-yard pass on offense while also making 12 tackles with a tackle for loss on defense in an Oct. 31 playoff win.
“I was just really honored,” Christian said. “I know it couldn’t happen without my (offensive) line or D-line. Those guys are all really great and I just feel honored.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Nov. 3-9: Griffin Richards, Tri-Village football
Richards was nominated after he had eight receptions for 203 yards and four touchdowns and returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown on special teams during a Nov. 7 home playoff win.
The performance against Portsmouth West was the second time this season Richards had at least 200 yards receiving in a single game. His touchdown receptions went for 51, 22, 37, and 30 yards.
“I’m really proud of us because we take football very seriously,” Richards said. “Even for how young it is, we know what it takes to get to the places we want to be and that’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Nov. 10-16: Collin Isaac, Tippecanoe football
Isaac was nominated after he made 16 tackles, nine of which were solo, and had one tackle for loss during a Nov. 14 home playoff win. He also made the game-clinching interception on a fourth down play with under two minutes remaining.
“[Coach] Burgbacher telling me this year that I was pretty much the defensive team leader and I would be the quarterback of the defense was just really cool and heartwarming,” Isaac said. “I put a lot of time and effort into all this and I’m always talking up all the fellas and making sure everybody’s on the same page.”
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
Nov. 24-30: Emilee Hargis, Eaton basketball
Hargis was nominated after she scored 26 points on 6-for-13 shooting and making 13 of 14 attempts from the free throw line. She also grabbed six rebounds, had two steals in a Nov. 25 win against Edgewood.
It’s the team mindset that’s led to her successful start, but she gets the most joy translating it into being a role model for her peers.
“I want to just be that leader, even in like school and everything,” she said. “I want to set a good example of just being a good person outside of basketball and inside of basketball.”
Dec. 1-7: Bella Cherry, Tri-County North basketball
Cherry was nominated after two games against National Trail and Middletown Christian where she averaged 25 points, four rebounds, 4.5 assists and 9 steals. She became the second player in school history to eclipse 1,000-career points in the process.
She said she understands her role as the main player on the floor for the Panthers’ means leading and being a role model for others. She gets some of that from her background being around a basketball family. That includes her mother, Jessica Spitler, who doubles as the head coach at TCN for the past 12 seasons.
“It definitely feels like there’s a strong connection. I feel like she’s a lot harder on me because I’m her kid. We don’t always see eye to eye, but it works out and we figure it out together,” Cherry said.
Dec. 8-14: Caroline Roelle, Oakwood basketball
Roelle was nominated after she averaged 23 points and 6.7 rebounds across three games. She also set a school record with nine 3-pointers made in the Dec. 13 game against Carlisle.
She had three in the first quarter, five by halftime, and tied the school mark of eight going to the fourth quarter. Prior to the game she had spoken with one of her coaches about goals they had set for her to reach 30 points in a game and shoot for that record.
Having already reached the first mark, she admitted she had the green light to go for the record.
“After they get going in, you know, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,” Roelle said. “Obviously that was like a really hot shooting day and not every game is going to be like that.”
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