Aurora Central Catholic's Riley Cwinski voted SBLive's Illinois High School Athlete of the Week (Feb. 13-18)

Cwinski scored a career-high 31 points during a victory against Marengo

Athlete of the Week

Congratulations to Aurora Central Catholic's Riley Cwinski, who was voted the SBLive Illinois high school Athlete of the Week for Feb. 13-18. She received more than 48 percent of the votes.

Cwinski saved a career-best scoring effort for the biggest game of the season to date as she dropped in 31 points during Aurora Central Catholic’s 59-36 2A regional championship victory over Marengo.

Timothy Christian girls basketball player Grace Roland finished second in the voting with more than 21 percent of the votes.


Previous winners: Geneva's Leah Palmer (Feb. 6-11), Kennedy's Brett Gomez (Jan. 30-Feb. 4), Oswego East's Bryce Shoto (Jan. 23-28), Benet Academy's Brady Kunka (Jan. 16-21), Lincoln-Way East's Lilly Dockemeyer (Jan. 9-14), St. Francis' Tea Rubino (Jan. 2-7), Libertyville's Will Buchert (Dec. 26-31), Rich Township's Diondre Henry (Dec. 19-24), Montini Catholic's Shannon Blacher (Dec. 12-17), East St. Louis' Macaleab Rich (Dec. 5-10), Butler's Xamiya Walton (Nov. 21-26), East St. Louis' TaRyan Martin (Nov. 14-20), Lake Zurich's Tyler Erkman (No. 7-12), St. Rita's DJ Stewart (Oct. 31-Nov. 5), Stevenson's Matt Projansky (Oct. 17-22), Prospect's Brad Vierneisel (Oct. 10-15), Brother Rice's Owen Lyons (Oct. 3-8), Bolingbrook's Jonas Williams (Sept. 19-24), Benet Academy's Aniya Warren (Sept. 12-17), Bolingbrook's I'Marion Stewart (Sept. 4-10), Lemont's Nate Wrublik (Aug. 29-Sept. 3) and Highland's Travis Porter (Aug. 22-28).


Here's another look at the rest of the nominees:

Nasir Bailey, Rich Township boys wrestling

A senior and Arkansas Little-Rock recruit, Bailey brought home his fourth state title after winning his final match 5-2 in the 3A 138-pound weight class. Bailey finished his season with a 43-1 record.

Lenee Beaumont, Benet Academy girls basketball

Beaumont was a dominant presence all over the court during Benet’s Regional Championship victory over Yorkville on Thursday. The senior Indiana commit scored 27 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and added four steals to lead the Redwings to their ninth straight regional title.

Brooke Carlson, Batavia girls basketball

Carlson had another great game despite battling foul trouble during Batavia’s 63-50 4A Regional championship victory over Glenbard West. The junior led all scorers with 24 points for Batavia to help them bring home the regional crown.

Drake Champlin, East Alton-Wood River boys wrestling

With a first-round win by fall at the state meet in Champaign, Champlin secured his school-record 45th win on the season. The sophomore, who was also an all-conference defensive lineman, finished with a 2-2 record for the weekend.

Bobby Conway, Brother Rice boys wrestling

Conway, who is just a sophomore, entered the weekend as the underdog in the 2A 126-pound bracket but put on a great show. Trailing 15-13 in a great battle for the championship match, Conway secured a takedown and won the match by an injury default.

Ben Davino, St. Charles East boys wrestling

Davino, a junior who was already a two-time state champion going into this year, had the tall task of defending his title while wrestling for the 126-pound championship in Champaign. The nationally-ranked wrestler captured his third straight state title with a 6-1 overtime victory in his championship match.

Nojus Indrusaitas, St. Rita boys basketball

A 6-5 junior committed to Iowa State, Indrusaitas had an impressive game on Friday. The future Cyclone scored 22 points and helped the Mustangs to a convincing 73-48 victory over St. Ignatius. The victory clinched the outright CCL Blue title for St. Rita.

Dillan Johnson, Joliet Catholic boys wrestling

Johnson has shown off his star power all season on the mat for the Hilltoppers and lived up to the hype in Champaign over the weekend. The junior won his championship match 8-2 to secure a 43-0 season record and he remains undefeated throughout his high school career.

Quentin Jones, Marian Catholic boys basketball

A 6-5 senior guard for Marian Catholic, Jones had a solid outing during the Spartans 50-42 victory over De La Salle on Thursday. The Cal Poly commit paced Marian Catholics scoring effort with 19 points while grabbing five rebounds.

Nikki Kerstein, Deerfield girls basketball

In the Class 3A Regional championship at Crystal Lake South, Kerstein took over for the Warriors as she poured in a game high 25 points to lead the way for a 87-34 Deerfield victory over Grayslake North.

Alyssa Latham, Homewood-Flossmoor girls basketball

During Homewood-Flossmoor’s 4A Regional championship game against Sandburg on Thursday, Latham, a Syracuse commit, led the way for the Vikings with 16 points to help her team to a 56-31 victory to improve to 18-6 on the season and move on to the Sectionals at Romeoville.

Andy Nash, Benet Academy boys basketball

The highly-ranked Redwings escaped with a 47-43 victory over DePaul Prep on Friday thanks largely to the scoring effort of Nash. The senior led all scorers with 16 points, including five 3-pointers, to help Benet improve its record to an impressive 29-1 on the season.

Azyah Newson-Cole, Lincoln-Way Central girls basketball

Newson-Cole had a solid all-around performance during Lincoln-Way Central's 4A Regional championship game against rival Lincoln-Way East. The senior IUPUI commit scored a team-high 21 points while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists while helping the Knights advance to Sectionals with a 59-44 win.

Baylie Parks, Lake Zurich girls basketball

A senior guard, Parks had a huge game against the defending state champion, Stevenson in the 4A Regional Championship game on Thursday. The 6-footer scored a career-high 26 points while grabbing nine rebounds and adding three steals on defense to lead the fourth-seeded Bears to a 66-43 victory.

Annalise Pietryzk, Providence Catholic girls basketball

Providence relied strongly on Pietryzk’s scoring efforts during their 3A Regional championship game against Lemont on Thursday. The senior scored a team-high 30 points to go along with nine rebounds in a 68-48 victory.

Grace Roland, Timothy Christian girls basketball

A standout senior center, Roland was active both in the paint and beyond the 3-point line during the Trojans 52-36 2A Regional championship victory over IC Catholic Prep. Rolan finished with 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.

Drew Scharnowski, Burlington Central boys basketball

In a Fox Valley Conference matchup with Huntley, the 6-8 Belmont commit led the way for the Rockets with 16 points. Burlington Central won the game 60-47 and improved its overall record to 26-5 and first-place 16-2 conference record.

Ethan Stiles, Conant boys wrestling

A captain and nationally-ranked wrestler for the Cougars, Stiles came home from Champaign with his third state championship. The 160-pounder finished the season with a 32-0 record after winning his championship bout by a 3-0 decision.

Morgan Turner, Bremen boys wrestling

Turner made IHSA history while wrestling in the 106-pound boys weight class in Champaign over the weekend. After losing to the eventual champion in the semifinals, Turner (35-3) won her third place match 4-2 to become the first female to medal at the state wrestling meet.


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Published
Nate Latsch, SBLive Sports
NATE LATSCH, SBLIVE SPORTS

Nate Latsch is a Regional Editor at SBLive Sports overseeing high school coverage for Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. A veteran sportswriter and multimedia content creator, Latsch has covered high school sports in the St. Louis area and Missouri for 20 years, with a focus on high school football, basketball, baseball and football and basketball recruiting.  He has worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, STLhighschoolsports.com, the Associated Press, FOX Sports Midwest, MLB.com and Scout.com.  In addition to covering high school sports, Latsch has covered youth, college and professional sports, including covering the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues and St. Louis Rams, the University of Missouri and Saint Louis University.