It’s time again to vote for the West Michigan Conference Player of the Week, sponsored by Complete Restoration & Cleaning Services, Inc.
The nominees have been selected and the fan poll created. We need your votes.
Six fall sports athletes from the conference who stood out in competitions Oct. 2-7, 2023, have been nominated by CatchMark SportsNet.
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, Oct. 13.
Athletes are listed alphabetically:
MADISON BABINEC, Oakridge volleyball
The senior outside hitter and middle hitter led the Eagles to the championship of the Kent City Dig Pink Invitational on Saturday. Babinec totaled 50 kills, 10 blocks, and five aces. Oakridge went 2-1 in pool play. In bracket play, Oakridge defeated Byron Center Zion Christian in the first round (25-19, 25-22), Kent City in the semifinals (25-22, 25-16), and Grandville Calvin Christian in the finals (25-11, 25-20). Last Tuesday, Babinec had 10 kills in leading Oakridge past Orchard View in a sweep.
KENDALL BARNHART, Fremont volleyball
The 5-foot-9 senior outside hitter helped power Fremont to the title in the 12th annual Lori Vargas Volleyball Against Violence tournament Saturday at Hesperia. Barnhart had 19 aces on the day to go with 25 kills and 30 digs. In the finals, Fremont edged White Cloud, 25-27, 25-17, 15-12. Last Tuesday, in a sweep of host Whitehall (25-18, 25-14, 25-20), Barnhart had eight kills, 11 digs, and three aces.
JESSICA JAZWINSKI, Hart cross country
The Pirates junior captured the individual title in Division 3 at the Portage Invitational on Saturday with a time of 17:30.9. Jazwinski’s time was second-best overall among hundreds of runners. As a team, Hart placed sixth with a score of 241. Last Tuesday, Jazwinski won the West Michigan Conference Rivers Division jamboree at Holton with a time of 18:59.2.
ARTURO ROMERO-SERRANO, Oakridge soccer/football
It was a big week for Romero-Serrano, who returned from injury to lead Oakridge on the soccer field and also made his presence felt on the football field. In Monday’s 5-2 home soccer win over Manistee, he talled four goals. In Wednesday’s 6-0 home soccer victory over Pentwater, Romero-Serrano scored five straight goals. He has 99 career goals entering the district opener this Wednesday at home against Grant. In Oakridge’s 50-18 football win over Orchard View Friday, Romero-Serrano went 6-for-6 on PATs and averaged 52.9 yards on eight kickoffs.
CAMDEN THOMPSON, Whitehall football
The 6-foot-5, 190-pound junior made his presence felt during Whitehall’s 48-0 victory over host Ludington on Friday. Thompson made four receptions for 76 yards, then he capped off the game’s scoring in the fourth quarter with a 79-yard pick-6 in which he put his athleticism on display zig-zagging across the field and outrunning everybody.
CALEB VISSIA, Fremont soccer
Fremont’s sophomore goalkeeper helped the Packers earn an outright West Michigan Conference title with a pair of dominant victories last week. In Monday’s 4-1 home win over Whitehall, Vissia made five saves. In Wednesday’s 4-0 title-clinching road victory over Manistee, Vissia turned back 12 shots. Fremont finished 8-1-1 in the WMC and takes a 16-1-1 overall record into district play.
