This is the final CatchMark SportsNet West Michigan Conference Player of the Week fan poll of the 2022-23 winter sports season.
Six winter sports athletes from the conference who stood out in competitions March 6-11, 2023, have been nominated. Now 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, March 17.
If an athlete has already won Player of the Week honors this season — Whitehall’s Camden Thompson and Hart’s Hovey siblings come to mind — then he or she is not eligible to be nominated.
Athletes are listed alphabetically:
AUTUMN FERRIS, Whitehall basketball
The 6-foot-1 senior forward led the Vikings in scoring with 10 points to go with her four rebounds in a 51-33 loss to Freeland in a Division 2 girls regional basketball semifinal last Tuesday at Frankenmuth. Whitehall finished the season with a 13-11 record after capturing the program’s first district championship since 2005.
MASON GARCIA, Shelby basketball
The senior guard played three strong games last week in helping Shelby capture a Division 3 district title at Mason County Central. In Monday’s 53-36 first-round win over Manistee, Garcia had seven points, seven rebounds and six assists. In Wednesday’s 54-51 semifinals win over Mason County Central, he had a game-high 18 points, four rebounds and five assists. In Friday’s 45-40 finals victory over White Cloud, Garcia delivered a team-high 14 points, five rebounds and three assists.
MATHEUS GARCIA, Fremont swimming
The Packers senior captured the championship in the 100-yard freestyle during the MHSAA’s Division 3 swimming and diving state finals Saturday at the Oakland University Natatorium. Garcia won with a finals time of 44.75 seconds. Because his time was 44.86 or better, he was granted All-America auto status. Garcia also earned Dream Team honors by Michigan Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association.
ALEC LAMPEN, Manistee swimming
The Manistee junior captured the championship in the 100-yard backstroke in the MHSAA’s Division 3 swimming and diving state finals Saturday at the Oakland University Natatorium. Lampen’s finals time was 50.30 seconds. He was runner-up in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.87 and swam on Manistee’s fourth-place 200-yard medley relay team. Manistee finished seventh in the overall team standings.
JORDON MCDONALD, Fremont basketball
The 6-foot-3 senior powered the Packers to a Division 2 district title last week with a pair of double-doubles. In a 54-49 district semifinals win over Grant Wednesday, McDonald finished with 25 points and 20 rebounds. In Friday’s 57-55 district finals victory over Sparta, he delivered 21 points and 12 rebounds. Recently, McDonald joined the 1,000-point club in his career.
MARIANA VANAGTMAEL, Hart basketball
The 5-foot-4 senior guard is not a big scorer, but she continues to make winning plays for the Division 3 regional champion Pirates. In last Tuesday’s 49-29 regional semifinals win over Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, VanAgtmael finished with five points and four rebounds. In Thursday’s 37-34 regional finals victory over Kent City, she preserved the win by blocking the potential game-tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds and also made a free throw that tied the game at 31 in the final minutes.
