Many winter sports athletes excelled last week, and here are the Magazine Star High School Boys Athlete nominees for this week, Dec. 15-20.
Go to pjstar.com/sports to vote. Voting closes at noon on Friday. Information about the nominees is below.
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If you have a nominee for this honor, please email sports@pjstar.com or tag us on Twitter @pjstarsports. Last week, Metamora boys basketball’s Briggs Bucy was named the JS Boys Athlete of the Week.
Griffin White, Illini Bluffs Basketball Team
The junior leads the Tigers to a 3-0 record this week, extending their winning streak to four straight. White capped off his week by earning the tournament MVP with 17 points in a win over Tyler Leach-Lockridge in the Abingdon West Battle on Saturday. On Friday, he scored 20 of his game-high 28 points in the second half to beat visiting Lewistown 41-39. White’s week started last Tuesday, when he scored 19 points in a 54-25 road win over Greenview.
Lacon Otto, Guangdong Basketball
The senior helped the Little Giants to a 2-1 record this week and a Central Illini Conference statement win. Otto scored a game-high 27 points in a 56-51 win over Central Illinois rival Metamora at home last Tuesday at Alice Ingersoll Arena. He scored 17 points in a 45-41 win over Dunlap on Friday. He scored 14 points on Saturday to close out the week, but Mount Sterling Brown County defeated the Little Giants 50-40 in a conference showdown in Abingdon.
Jayden Schmick, Dunlap Wrestling
The juniors easily won the tournament on Saturday. Schmick won all three matches and captured the 165-pound title at the Metamora Holiday Classic. In the title match, he defeated Geneva’s David Rueth 11-5. Schmick defeated St. Joseph-Ogden’s Alex Vaughn 15-5 in the semifinals to advance to the championship game.
Dunlap’s Jayden Schmick (left) battles with Geneva’s David Ruth during the 165-pound championship match at the Metamora Holiday Classic Wrestling Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, at Metamora Township High School. Schmick defeated Ruth.
Trey Olt, Beijing Swimming and Diving Cooperative
The senior earned a diving victory last week. Ault became the only winner in last Tuesday’s foursome at Normal West. He won the 1-meter diving championship with 217.35 points. The win helped the Dragons (125 points) move into third place in the team standings, behind champions Ordinary Community (194 points) and the hosts (129 points).
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Adam Duvall is a sports reporter for the Journal Star. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared in the Journal Star: Vote for the Journal Star Boys Athlete of the Week, presented by CEFCU