VARSITY INSIDER

Vermont Varsity Insider Athletes of the Week: Ballots for Oct. 14-20

Alex Abrami Austin Danforth
Burlington Free Press

Welcome to Year 2 of the Vermont Varsity Insider Athletes of the Week voting by high school sports fans!

This is the seventh installment for the 2019-20 school year.

This week, and every week during the three sports seasons, members of the public may vote for a top girls athlete and a top boys athlete (see below for this week's ballot).

How do I cast my vote?

All voting is through the two ballots below. We will not accept votes through email or through social media.

Voting began Monday, Oct. 21, and continues through midnight Thursday.

How do we learn who wins?

The two winners will be revealed Friday afternoon in a story posted at BurlingtonFreePress.com.

May I nominate a deserving athlete for a future ballot?

Yes. Please nominate a Vermont high school athlete one of these three ways:

Send an email to sports@burlingtonfreepress.com (Subject Line: Athletes of the Week nomination)

Tweet your nomination with the hashtag: #VTvarsityinsider

Join our Vermont Varsity Insider group on Facebook and post your nomination.

Vote here for Girls Athlete of the Week

More about each candidate:

Alia Edmunds, Otter Valley field hockey: The standout pumped in five goals last week, two tallies vs. Rutland for a season sweep and a hat trick vs. Brattleboro, as the Otters nailed down the No. 1 seed for the D-II playoffs.

Addy Harris, Mount Abraham soccer: The senior totaled two goals and two assists in a pair of 3-0 wins last week over Addison County rivals Vergennes and Middlebury, helping the Eagles (11-3) clinch the 2-seed for the D-II playoffs.

Amanda Lyon, Essex volleyball: The junior had five kills in the 3-0 victory over Montpelier (25-19, 25-8, 25-13) and then totaled eight kills and three blocks in a four-set triumph over South Burlington (25-12, 25-20, 22-25, 25-20). It was just the second set two-time reigning champion Essex dropped in its 14-0 regular season.

Olivia Moore, Colchester soccerThe goalie stretched her team's shutout streak to six games, all wins, with a pair of clean sheets last week. Moore posted nine saves in the 1-0 overtime win over Burlington and then turned back seven shots in the 3-0 triumph over BFA-St. Albans, pushing Colchester (10-4) to its sixth straight 10-plus win season.

Jasmine Nails, Champlain Valley cross-country running: The sophomore earned runner-up honors, one of six Redhawks in the top 10, in the large-school NVAC Metro championship race at Hard'Ack Recreation Area. Nails recorded a personal-best time of 18 minutes, 48.9 seconds.

Vote here for Boys Athlete of the Week

More about each candidate:

Charlie Cusson-Ducharme, Colchester football: On senior night, Cusson-Ducharme ran for 120 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, and also returned an interception for a pick-six for a 31-0 lead, in the Lakers' playoff-stamping, 38-12 triumph over Mount Mansfield.

Cody Davison, Hazen soccer: Davison helped Hazen knock off fellow D-III contenders Enosburg and Winooski in narrow one-goal wins. He scored twice and had an assist in the 3-2 triumph over Enosburg and then polished off a four-goal game with the overtime winner in the 6-5 decision over Winooski.

Jed Lober, Bellows Falls football: The Terriers' running back gashed the Milton defense with 315 yards and five touchdowns. Lober had TD runs of 28, 15, 3, 9 and 6 yards in the 39-16 rout for Bellows Falls, the 3-seed for the D-II playoffs.

Jack Sinopoli, Champlain Valley soccer: The senior handed out the assist on the insurance tally in the 2-0 win over Mount Mansfield and then put away two goals, including the late equalizer, in the 3-2 overtime triumph over St. Johnsbury. Defending champion CVU completed an unbeaten season (13-0-1) for the second straight fall.

Wondu Summa, Burlington cross-country running: The senior captured his second big-meet race of the season, claiming the large-school NVAC Metro championship. Summa posted a time of 16:26.6 at Hard'Ack Recreation Area course in St. Albans.

Colchester's Charlie Cusson-Ducharme (19) runs with the ball during the high school football games between the Mount Mansfield Cougars and the Colchester Lakers at Colchester High School on Friday night October 18, 2019 in Colchester, Vermont.

Athlete of the Week winners in '19-20

Fall

Oct. 7-13: South Burlington's Sam Crane and BFA-Fairfax/Lamoille's Jaxon Schaarschmidt

Sept. 30-Oct. 6: Champlain Valley's Hailey Chase and Milton's Caleb Barnier

Sept. 23-29: Rice's Amy Hester and Burr and Burton's Joey McCoy

Sept. 16-22: Harwood's Ava Thurston and Middlebury's Tyler Buxton

Sept. 9-15: Missisquoi's Ava Hubbard and Mount Anthony's Jack Ware

Aug. 30-Sept. 8: Champlain Valley's Alicia Veronneau and Brattleboro's Tyler Millerick