Vote for CatchMark SportsNet Player of the Week (Jan. 16-21, 2023)

Bowlers, wrestlers and girls basketball players enter the spotlight in the CatchMark SportsNet West Michigan Conference Player of the Week fan poll.

It’s time to recognize six nominees who stood out during the week of Jan. 16-21, 2023, and throughout the winter sports season. It’s time for you to vote for Player of the Week.

The poll can be found at the bottom of this story after brief capsules on the nominees. Voting is open and will continue until noon on Friday, Jan. 27.

Athletes are listed alphabetically:

CHRISTOPHER AEBIG, Montague wrestling

The Wildcats junior captured the 132-pound championship at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association tournament Saturday at Montague. He pinned each of his first two opponents in less than 90 seconds, then he decisioned Whitehall’s Caden Varela (15-9) in the finals match. Entering this week, Aebig boasts a 15-3 record.

SHANE COOK, Whitehall wrestling

The Vikings senior rolled to the 285-pound title at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association tournament Saturday at Montague. He pinned each of his first three opponents in less than a minute, then defeated Reeths-Puffer’s Nathan Stafford by pinfall in 4:13 during the finals. Cook registered his 100th career pin during the day. He enters this week with a 33-0 record on the season.

ONNYKA DEMPSEY, Whitehall girls basketball

The 5-foot-6 senior led the Vikings to a trio of victories last week. In Saturday’s 52-28 home win over North Muskegon, Dempsey totaled 21 points, four steals, three assists, two rebounds and one block. In Thursday’s 40-34 victory over visiting Shelby, she finished with eight points, four rebounds and four steals. In Monday’s 46-34 win at Holton, Dempsey paced the Vikings with 11 points, five steals and four rebounds.

AVA GARCIA, Whitehall girls bowling

In Wednesday’s 28-2 victory over rival Montague, the Vikings junior led everybody with a score of 213. Garcia ranks second in the West Michigan Conference in average at 147, but she has more total pins knocked down than anyone with 2,058 in 14 games. Through last Wednesday’s competitions, Whitehall leads the WMC with a 6-1 record.

KONNER MAUS, Orchard View boys bowling

The Cardinals senior easily leads all West Michigan Conference boys bowlers in average with a 193. That’s seven pins better than the second-place bowler in the league. Maus has dropped 2,318 pins in 12 games for Orchard View, which enters this week with a perfect league record at 6-0.

MALLORY MILLER, Mason County Central girls basketball

The 5-foot-7 sophomore point guard had three solid games during a busy stretch for the traveling Spartans last week. In Monday’s 42-30 win at Fremont, Miller led MCC with nine points, three assists and three steals. In Wednesday’s 50-36 victory at Newaygo, she paced her team with 13 points and two assists. In Thursday’s 68-31 loss at Division 4 top-ranked Maple City Glen Lake, Miller scored a career-high 20 points.