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 Jan. 20-25.

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

Madeline Banchieri, Liberty soccer: The junior goalkeeper had seven saves in a 1-0 victory over Northgate. She began this week with 38 saves on the season.

Mariah Betancourt, Evergreen Valley soccer: The senior forward scored twice and handed out one assist in a victory over Santa Teresa. She ended the week with 20 goals and nine assists on the season.

Ashley Childers, Los Gatos basketball: The forward scored 25 points and grabbed 22 rebounds to lead her team to an overtime victory against Monta Vista. The win helped the Wildcats remain undefeated in league play.

Cece Giguere, Lincoln-San Jose soccer: The senior scored seven goals and had two assists in two games over the past week. The San Jose State commit, who was also a dominant force on Lincoln’s flag football team last fall, has 25 goals this season.

Ava Jara, Clayton Valley Charter soccer: The junior scored two goals and had an assist in a victory over American. The midfielder has 12 goals and four assists this season.

Gemma Jusseaume, Albany soccer: The senior scored three goals and also added four assists in an 11-0 victory over De Anza. The forward has 15 goals and 12 assists so far this season.

Jhai Johnson, Oakland Tech basketball: Johnson had 26 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks in a victory over St. Ignatius. She followed that with a 24-point game against Oakland, where she also surpassed 100 career blocks.

Madison Kumagai, Prospect basketball: The senior made six 3-pointers and scored 20 points in a 54-48 victory over Branham. Kumagai ended the week averaging eight points per game for a team that was 12-5.

Arleth Magana Martinez, Kennedy-Richmond soccer: The sophomore scored four goals in an 8-1 victory over Vallejo in league play. She had a three-goal game against Tennyson in December.

Jojo Mojica, Deer Valley soccer: The senior had one goal and one assist in a 6-0 victory over St. Joseph Notre Dame. The result helped snap a five-game skid for the Wolverines.

Naliyah Sefidi, Monte Vista basketball: The sophomore made the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer against Sacred Heart Prep to cap a 39-point night. She followed that by scoring 19 points and dishing seven assists in a victory over Foothill.

BOYS

Zachary Beyer, Oakland Tech soccer: Beyer scored a goal in a 2-0 win against Oakland. The Bulldogs are 5-3-1, 3-1-1 will travel to Leadership Public Schools-Richmond on Monday.

Ryder Carper, Freedom basketball: Carper scored 16 points in Freedom’s 67-21 win over Mt. Eden. Freedom is 8-13, 3-3 and will host Heritage today.

Ricardo Feliciano, Dougherty Valley soccer: The senior totaled two goals to lead Dougherty Valley to a 5-2 win over Granada. Dougherty Valley is 10-2-2, 5-0 and is scheduled to host Monte Vista today.

Porter Freitag, Las Lomas basketball: Freitag, a senior, scored 23 points and knocked down seven 3-pointers in Las Lomas’ 55-54 win over Benicia. Las Lomas (10-11, 6-1) is tied for first place in the Diablo Athletic League and will play Concord at home today.

Gabriel Gil, Menlo soccer: The senior scored the winning goal with 10 seconds left in a 1-0 win over Sacred Heart Prep. Menlo is 9-2-2, 7-0 and is scheduled to play The King’s Academy on Wednesday at home.

Gregory Gutierrez, Bellarmine soccer: The senior totaled two goals to lead Bellarmine to a 3-1 win over Archbishop Mitty. Bellarmine (11-1-1, 7-0) sits atop the West Catholic Athletic League and will play Sacred Heart Cathedral on Wednesday

Ethan Jin, Lynbrook basketball: Jin scored 19 points to lead Lynbrook to a 65-63 win over Monta Vista. Lynbrook is 11-6, 4-3 and is scheduled to play at Santa Clara on Wednesday.

Claxton Ladine, The King’s Academy basketball: Ladine totaled 22 points and hit a crucial 3-pointer late to lift TKA over Sacred Heart Prep in a 66-62 win. TKA (15-3, 4-0) has won its last eight games and will travel to Crystal Springs Uplands today.

Benjamin Lukacs, Cornerstone Christian basketball: Lukas scored a game-high 26 points to lead Cornerstone to a 66-64 win over Heritage. Cornerstone (19-3, 6-0) is slated to host Head-Royce today.

Anthony Martin, Los Gatos basketball: The senior scored 25 points and had six steals in the Wildcats’ 76-58 win over Gunn. Los Gatos is 12-5, 3-3 and is scheduled to travel to Los Altos on Wednesday.

Juan Quiroz, Gilroy soccer: The freshman scored a goal in a 3-0 win over San Jose. Gilroy (8-2-3, 2-1-1) will play James Lick – the top team in the Blossom Valley Athletic League West Valley Division – on Wednesday at home.