Winter weather forced some postponements last week and it wiped out the entire slate of action Friday and Saturday (Jan. 12-13).
Don’t fear: The CatchMark SportsNet West Michigan Conference Player of the Week is here.
Nominees have been selected and the fan poll created for Player of the Week, which is title sponsored by Complete Restoration & Cleaning Services, Inc.
We need your votes.
Six winter sports athletes from the conference who stood out in competitions Jan. 8-13, 2024, have been nominated by CatchMark SportsNet. Student-athletes who have already won Player of the Week honors this season are not eligible to be in the fan poll.
Time for you to vote, over and over. The poll can be found at the bottom of this story after brief capsules on the nominees. The poll closes at noon Friday, Jan. 19.
Athletes are listed alphabetically:
MALLORY MILLER, Mason County Central basketball
The 5-foot-7 junior point guard scored a career-high 29 points in the Spartans’ 60-44 home victory over Shelby last Tuesday in West Michigan Conference Rivers Division action. For the second time this season, Miller drained five 3-pointers in the contest. She was red-hot from the floor: 9-of-13 overall, 5-of-6 from deep, and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Miller added three rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
RILYNN PORTER, Hart basketball
The 5-foot-5 freshman guard scored 20 first-quarter points en route to a game-high 34 in the Pirates’ 97-8 victory over host Hesperia last Tuesday. The Pirates enter this week with a 5-2 overall record and 4-0 mark in the West Michigan Conference Rivers Division.
OWEN RAETH, Montague basketball
Coming off an ankle injury that kept him out of the previous week’s game at Fremont, the 5-foot-8 senior guard heated up for five 3-pointers en route to a game-high 24 points in 21 minutes during the Wildcats’ 72-31 nonleague victory over visiting Kent City last Wednesday. Raeth added seven rebounds and four steals.
RYANN ROBINS, Holton basketball
The 5-foot-11 senior center delivered a couple of big performances as the Red Devils split a pair of games last week. Robins posted 13 points and 17 rebounds in last Monday’s 35-16 nonleague home win over White Cloud. Robins upped the ante in last Tuesday’s 52-49 overtime loss at North Muskegon, where she erupted for 19 points and 20 rebounds.
JASON SHEAFFER, Whitehall wrestling
It was a relatively light schedule for wrestling last week since Saturday’s events were postponed, but this freshman has been performing well recently for the Division 3 third-ranked Vikings. He picked up a forfeit win in last Wednesday’s dual vs. North Muskegon. Prior to that, he finished runner-up at Ravenna’s Lloyd Cogswell event. Entering this week, Sheaffer boasts a 13-5 record at 120 pounds.
COLE VANDERHAAG, Mason County Central basketball
The 5-foot-10 sophomore guard sparked the Spartans to a pair of victories last week, including a big-time performance in West Michigan Conference Rivers Division play. VanderHaag finished with 14 points, three assists, three steals, and two rebounds in last Monday’s 38-24 win at Orchard View. In Thursday’s 65-54 victory at Hart, VanderHaag had 26 points with six 3-pointers to go with five steals.
