Julian Washington, Ciara Seifert voted High School on SI National Athletes of the Week (1/27/2025)

Washington is from Margaretta (Ohio); Seifert hails from John Marshall (Minnesota)

Margaretta's Julian Washington. / Doug Hise / USA TODAY NETWORK

Congratulations to Margaretta (Ohio) junior Julian Washington and John Marshall (Minnesota) senior Ciara Seifert for being voted High School on SI National Boys Athlete of the Week and Girls Athlete of the Week, respectively, for Jan. 20-26.

Washington was unstoppable in an 87-51 win over Valley View, putting up 35 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks.

Seifert piled up 32 points and 27 rebounds in a loss to Austin. 

Washington earned 48.28 percent of the vote to beat out Jaxson Spafford of Putnam (Oregon), who got 22.77 percent. 

The National Boys Athlete of the Week poll received nearly 10,000 votes. 

Seifert finished with 51.38 percent of the vote while Laney Cahoon of Orangeville (Illinois) placed second at 34.32 percent. 

The National Girls Athlete of the Week poll received more than 19,000 votes.  

We are accepting National Athlete of the Week nominations. If you would like to nominate an athlete, email bob.lundeberg@gmail.com.

Editor’s Note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes that receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.

Here were the top five vote-getters in each poll:

National Boys Athlete of the Week voting

1. Julian Washington, jr., Margaretta (Ohio) basketball

Washington was unstoppable in an 87-51 win over Valley View, putting up 35 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks. He received 48.28 percent of the vote. 

2. Jaxson Spafford, sr., Putnam (Oregon) basketball

Spafford did all he could in a 57-51 loss to Canby, pouring in 38 points. He scored 17 points during Putnam’s fourth-quarter comeback attempt. He received 22.77 percent of the vote. 

3. Lazerek Houston, sr., Lincoln Northeast (Nebraska) basketball

Houston hit nine 3-pointers — a new single-game school record — en route to 46 points in a 92-70 victory over Lincoln. He received 12.5 percent of the vote. 

4. Saxton Howard, sr., Lexington Christian (Kentucky) basketball

Howard had 53 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in a 96-84 win over Meade County. He received 6.97 percent of the vote. 

5. Ty Price, sr., Butler County (Kentucky) basketball

Price became the 26th player in Kentucky history to reach 3,000 career points in an 85-53 victory over Trinity. The UT-Martin signee finished the game with 21 points. He received 5.21 percent of the vote. 

National Girls Athlete of the Week voting

6. Ciara Seifert, sr., John Marshall (Minnesota) basketball

Seifert piled up 32 points and 27 rebounds in a loss to Austin. She received 51.38 percent of the vote. 

7. Laney Cahoon, sr., Orangeville (Illinois) basketball

Cahoon scored her 2,000th career point in a 56-49 comeback victory over Rockford Christian. The senior finished the game with 30 points. She received 34.32 percent of the vote. 

8. Braylyn Birmingham, fr., Norwalk (Iowa) basketball

Birmingham netted 31 points as Norwalk downed Carlisle, 60-45. She received 8.66 percent of the vote. 

9. Rainey Welson, sr., Hortonville (Wisconsin) basketball

Welson surpassed the 2,000 career points mark in an 84-49 rout of Appleton North. The Maryland signee had 43 points in the win. She received 1.99 percent of the vote.

10. Ava Orlando, sr., Notre Dame Academy (Massachusetts) basketball

Orlando scored 31 points — including the 2,000th of her prep career — in a 79-44 victory over Longmeadow. The senior also had 10 assists and six steals. She received 1.16 percent of the vote. 

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-- Bob Lundeberg | @sblivesports