Two Akron-area high school athletes have been named the Akron-Area Athletes of the Week for Oct. 12-18, the Akron Beacon Journal announced Friday, Oct. 23. Logan Romanini of Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy cross country is the girls winner, and Naseer Williams-Clay of East football is the boys winner.
Williams-Clay put together one of the biggest passing days of the Akron season, completing 11 of 14 passes for 234 yards and five touchdowns in East’s 36-0 win over Firestone. Romanini earned the girls honor for her week leading the CVCA cross country program as the postseason portion of the fall schedule arrived.
The weekly honor, presented each fall by the Beacon Journal, recognizes standout performances across the Greater Akron high school sports scene, with winners chosen from nominations submitted for athletes in every fall sport. Winners in the fall season are not eligible to win the honor again until the winter sports season begins.
The Oct. 23 announcement closes out another week of the fall series. Earlier October winners included Maddie O’Brien of Stow cross country and Nathan Miller of CVCA soccer for Oct. 9, and Greta Klingensmith of Woodridge soccer and Phil Partin of Manchester football for Oct. 2.
The September honorees show the breadth of the area’s fall sports: Isla Sullivan of Cuyahoga Falls soccer and Remington Griffiths of Woodridge cross country won for Sept. 18, Abigail Alden of Hoban soccer and Maddox Smith of Mogadore football for Sept. 11, and Ava Bethel of Norton volleyball and Blake Pumper of Woodridge football for Sept. 4.
Coaches and athletic directors across the Akron area submit the nominations that drive the weekly selections, and the Beacon Journal invites programs to keep sending nominees in as the fall postseason continues and the winter season approaches.
With district and regional competition now under way in cross country, soccer, volleyball and football, both Romanini and Williams-Clay will have more chances to add to their seasons in the weeks ahead. The next round of Athlete of the Week winners will be announced next Friday.
Photo: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0