Help us choose our high school Athletes of the Week

Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) Athlete of the Week poll.

For the entire academic year, we will provide a list of candidates who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the winner.

This week, we consider performances from Sept. 30 to Oct. 5.

Polls close at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Vote as many times as you’d like until then at mercurynews.com and eastbaytimes.com without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.

Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted.

Winners are announced each Friday online and in the print edition of the Mercury News and East Bay Times sports sections.

Candidates for future Athlete of the Week polls can be nominated at highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com.

We accept nominations until 11 a.m. each Monday. We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps by coaches/team statisticians.

On to the nominees:

GIRLS

Megan Bence, Carlmont tennis: The junior won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 singles, sweeping her opponent from Half Moon Bay as Carlmont remained undefeated as a team this season.

Elsa Chin, Alameda flag football: The senior filled up the stat sheet for the Hornets over the past week. She scored two rushing touchdowns and had two interceptions in a win over Arroyo and added three interceptions and two touchdowns in a win over Castro Valley.

Sofia Flierl, Menlo School water polo: The senior scored five goals and dished two assists as Menlo took down St. Francis 13-8 in West Catholic Athletic League action.

Lillie King, Carondelet volleyball: Compiled nine kills and hit .533 in a sweep of Granada, then was a perfect 5 for 5 from the field, hitting 1.000 in a sweep of Livermore.

Audrina Kang, Miramonte water polo: The senior scored three goals on three shots in Miramonte’s 8-5 win over Sacred Heart Prep.

Kayla Lichaa, San Mateo flag football: The sophomore completed 18 of 21 passes for 161 yards and four touchdowns as the Bearcats narrowly lost to Capuchino at home. She also rushed for 68 yards on six carries.

Sarah Lim, Saratoga golf: Posted two excellent performances, carding a 2-under 35 at Coyote Creek in a win over Los Gatos and a 4-under 30 in a win over Milpitas at Saratoga Country Club. Lim, a senior, is committed to play golf at Princeton next year.

Lauren Lynam, Monte Vista water polo: The freshman had two goals, three assists and six steals against Clovis North, a goal and an assist against Arroyo Grande, two goals and a steal against Leland, a goal and two steals against Stevenson-Pebble Beach and two goals and a steal in a big 14-12 win over St. Francis.

Sammy Ruiz, Menlo-Atherton flag football: The junior intercepted a pass with five seconds remaining to seal Menlo-Atherton’s 14-13 win over Aragon, the Bears’ second in conference play this season.

Kathryn Snow, Fremont-Sunnyvale field hockey: The senior scored both of Fremont’s goals in a 2-1 win over Santa Clara last Monday.

BOYS

Aiden Akery, Willow Glen football: Completed 14 of 22 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns and added a rushing score in Willow Glen’s 28-21 win over Silver Creek. Willow Glen is 5-0 and will start league play at Sobrato on Saturday.

Blayne Ballard, Northgate football: The senior hauled in five catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns in Northgate’s 35-21 upset win over Las Lomas. Northgate is 3-3 this season.

Justin Campbell, Evergreen Valley water polo: Scored eight goals in Evergreen Valley’s 16-13 win over Branham. The Cougars are 7-1 overall and 3-0 in league play this season.

Lucas Kirk, Burlingame football: The senior rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns and caught a receiving score to lead Burlingame to a 43-17 win over Mountain View. Burlingame (4-1, 1-1) is slated to host Hillsdale on Friday.

Dominic McMahon, Santa Clara cross country: The senior took first place in the large school division at the Artichoke Invitational, finishing the 2.3-mile race in 12:07.

Charlie Metherd, Miramonte football: Threw for 200 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score, as Miramonte defeated College Park 41-37. Metherd also rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown as Miramonte improved to 4-2.

J.C. Puga, Gilroy football: Led Gilroy to its first win of the season, totaling four rushing touchdowns in a 34-0 triumph over Independence. Gilroy (1-4) hosts Prospect on Friday.

Caleb Raumann, Castro Valley water polo: The senior totaled three goals, two assists and seven steals in Castro Valley’s 8-7 win over Paso Robles. The Trojans are 14-4 overall and 4-0 in their league this season.

Jayden Reger, Concord football: Rushed for two touchdowns as Concord defeated Encinal 29-22 at home. Concord (4-2) will have a bye before starting league play at Mt. Diablo on Oct. 18.

Michael Tellez, Newark Memorial cross country: Took first place in the three-mile run at the Mission Valley Athletic League Meet No. 2 with a time of 16:09.93.