Athlete of the Week

Athlete of the Week Voting: January 13 – 19

by
LebCoSports Staff
January 22, 2025

Presented in coordination with Froggy Valley 100.1/WiLBuR 99.7 & Lebanon Federal Credit Union, help us decide which male and female athlete should be honored for their outstanding efforts during last week’s local high school sports action. While you may have a favorite school or athlete already, we still encourage you to read through the lists below and then click on the link to vote.

The winners will be announced at the end of the week. Linked below are the articles about our most recent winners of the award.

Voting will remain open until Thursday at 10 pm.

One vote per email address, per day will be allowed.

While athletes can be nominated multiple weeks, the winners will be removed and updates will be provided as the season progresses.

While this may be a vote and emotions can run high, this is intended to bring attention to some of the best performances from our local student-athletes.

Nominations, which are made working with the schools, are listed below in alphabetical order.

Please read about each nominee, celebrate their accomplishment, and then go vote who you feel is most deserving of this week’s honor.

If you like this type of coverage, please let us know by Following us on social media:

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For any questions, comments, or discrepancies, please reach out to dan@lebcosports.com.

Female Nominees

Lorelai Boehler (ELCO / Fr.) – Wrestling: The 100-pound freshman has gone 10-5 as one of the leading wrestlers for the Lady Raiders in their inaugural season. One of those victories came last Friday night, helping ELCO defeat Northern Lebanon, 48-30, in the much-anticipated match-up. Of her ten victories, Boehler has pinned five opponents.

Jae Burrus (Lebanon / Sr.) – Basketball: Last Friday night, the senior had two huge defensive stops down the stretch to help the Cedars prevail a tough battle with Wilson. Her key plays included a five-second call and a pass deflection that led to a steal. The unheralded Burrus has provided clutch defense all season while also knocking down much-needed three-pointers to open up the floor for her teammates.

Miracle Hershey (New Covenant / Sr.) – Basketball: The senior has continued to do her part to help the Flames find victory. Last week against Dayspring Christian, Hershey had 11 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 12 steals. Because of her versatility and fiery competitiveness, Hershey is a threat to register a double-double (or even a triple-double) every time she sets foot on the court.

Susie Hoffman (Cedar Crest / Sr.) – Basketball: Last Thursday, the Lady Falcons picked up a win over McCaskey. Coming up big in the game was the senior, who registered 6 points, 8 rebounds, & 5 assists. Hoffman’s performance is made even more impressive by the fact that she is playing with a torn ACL in her left knee, all while logging 15+ minutes of meaningful playing time since being cleared to play beginning with the Holiday Tournament. Since Hoffman’s return to the lineup, Crest has been 5-2 as they hold an overall record of 9-7.

Addi Salus (Palmyra / Jr.) – Basketball: In a key win on Friday night over Milton Hershey, Salus led the Lady Cougars with 14 points. This included hitting a three-pointer and going 5-5 from the foul line. She followed up on Saturday with 9 points against a very good York Suburban team.

Sarah Ventura (Our Lady of the Cross / Sr.) – Basketball: The Lions went 3-0 last week with wins over Harrisburg Christian, Antietam, and Alliance Christian. In those games, Ventura averaged 5.7 points, offering a secondary scoring option to Riley Hatzfeld. As a result, Our Lady of the Cross finished the week having won four in a row.

Kasey Weimer (Northern Lebanon / Jr.) – Basketball: The Lady Vikings picked up a huge win over Manheim Central followed by a victory over Donegal. Against Central, Weimer tallied 9 points before leading the team with 12 points against the Indians. Weimer’s scoring ability has helped open up the floor as Northern Lebanon has achieved a record of 13-2.

Male Nominees

Elisha Slabach (Annville-Cleona / Sr.) – Basketball: Last Monday night, the senior scored his 1,000th career point while the Dutchmen hosted Northern Lebanon. Unfortunately, Slabach left the game in the 2nd quarter with an ankle injury. Prior to his injury, the Dutchmen were 8-3 with Slabach in the lineup.

Ben Smeltzer (ELCO / Sr.) – Bowling: Serving as the ELCO captain, the senior led his crew with a high game of 201 against Lancaster Catholic and then a 210 against Lampeter-Strasburg. Both of these matches resulted in wins for the Raiders.

Danny Speaks (Cedar Crest / Sr.) – Basketball: Last week, the Falcons went 3-0 with wins over Hempfield, McCaskey, and Methacton. Against the two Section 1 opponents, speaks scored 8 and 11. On Saturday, against a top-tier District 1 team, Speaks registered a team-high 21 points. The play of Speaks has helped Crest to a record of 11-4.

Talan VanderPloog (New Covenant / So.) – Basketball: The sophomore had 25 points and 4 rebounds in a loss to High Point Christian. VanDerPloog followed it up with a 28 point, 7 rebound, 3 steal, 3 assist game to lead the Flames to victory over Harrisburg Academy.

Micah Warner (Palmyra / Jr.) – Basketball: Last Tuesday, the Cougars crossed the river to battle Cedar Cliff. In the 4th quarter, Warner came to life and scored 6 of his 11 points. This included hitting the game-winner to break the tie as the buzzer sounded. On Saturday, the junior followed it up with 13 points against Pottsville.

Sam Wolford (Northern Lebanon / Jr.) – Wrestling: The 114-pound junior went 6-0 last week, pinning three opponents and defeating another by a 19-4 margin. His quickest match lasted just 28 seconds. Wolford’s outstanding season has helped the Vikings, giving them an overall season record of 15-2.

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