From staff Reports 

The Austin Sports Journal has partnered with Covert Ford to honor the top high school athletes in the Austin-San Antonio region each week during the high school sports season.

The Austin Sports Journal will gather the top performances across our 15-county coverage area with the help of readers, coaches and staff. Then let our readers decide the top athlete for the week.  

For this week only, voting is open until noon, Thursday and the winner will be announced early next week. Nominees are selected on performances from the previous week.

Coaches are encouraged to nominate athletes no later than 5 p.m., Sundays each week. Nominate players by emailing Michael Adams at madams@austinsportsjournal.com. 

Here are this week’s nominees:  

Chase Ames, Dripping Springs football: The junior quarterback threw for 312 yards and six touchdowns in the Tigers’ third round playoff win over Medina Valley, completing 18 of 18 pass attempts without an interception.

Van Hopping, Lake Travis football: The senior running back ran for 141 yards on 16 carries (8.8 yards per carry) and scored a touchdown in the Cavaliers playoff win over Laredo United.

Bryson Batton, Cedar Ridge boys basketball: The senior averaged 21 points per game last week in wins over Pflugerville and Cedar Park. He shot 46% and scored a team-high 27 points in the win over the Panthers.

Maddie Broxterman, Vandegrift girls basketball: The junior scored 22 points in a District 25-6A win over Round Rock and hit the game-winning three at the buzzer.

Sadie Reed, McNeil girls basketball: Had a double double in the Mavericks’ win over Manor, scoring 11 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.