Vote: Who should be Iowa’s high school athlete of the week? (2/24/2025)

Here are the candidates for High School on SI’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for Feb. 17-23

Blake Fox of Osage won his third title in three years at the state wrestling championships. / Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Here are the candidates for High School on SI’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for Feb. 17-23. Read through the nominees and cast your vote.

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Congratulations to last week's winner: Payton Bradley of St. Edmond girls basketball.

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Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, March 2. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:

Mason Bechen, North Linn boys basketball

In just three quarters of action, Bechen scored 31 as the Lynx handled Highland 89-24.

Kyle Cason, Dallas Center-Grimes boys basketball

Cason sparked the Mustangs to an upset of Council Bluffs Lincoln, scoring 36 points with 12 rebounds and five steals. The senior knocked down 13 of 25 shots and hit four 3-pointers.

Ava Eastlick, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont girls basketball

Eastlick stretched the Pekin defense, knocking down eight 3-pointers while scoring 26 in a regional victory for the Rockets. 

Blake Fox, Osage boys wrestling

After winning a pair of titles in 2A, Fox earned 1A gold, locking up his third title in three years with a 59-0 season and a technical fall in the finals.

Jace Hedeman, Union LaPorte City boys wrestling

Hedeman was one of a handful of wrestlers to claim their third state title, as the senior did so capping off a 55-0 season.

Sophia McCullough, Manson Northwest Webster girls basketball

McCullough reached a pair of milestones, surpassing 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds for the Cougars. 

Dreshaun Ross, Fort Dodge boys wrestling

Not many were as dominant as Ross, who won his third state title in as many tries. The junior scored three technical falls and a pin on his way to gold.

Conley Schauf, Monticello boys basketball

Schauf scored a career-high 43 points on 11 of 14 shooting with eight made 3-pointers while going 13-for-17 at the free throw line in a postseason win.

Hayden Schwab, Don Bosco boys wrestling

Schwab avenged his loss in the state finals last year with a technical fall, going 45-1 as a sophomore.

Toryn Severson, Madrid boys basketball

Severson broke the single-game school record for points, scoring 53 as the Tigers scored 119.

Cade Westerhoff, Fort Dodge boys basketball

Westerhoff helped the Dodgers gain some late-season momentum, scoring 28 points while grabbing 21 rebounds in a victory over Perry. 

Eddie Woody, Southeast Polk boys wrestling

Woody not only earned a title as a freshman, he did so with four falls in a total of just under seven minutes of action. 

Dawson Youngblut, Don Bosco boys wrestling

Youngblut finished the state tournament with four technical falls, which tied for first, as he was one of a handful of Don wrestlers to earn a state title.