Late-game heroes prevailed again when it came to May’s last Erie Times-News Seaway Window and AHN Sports Medicine Athlete of the Week polls.
More than 2,700 votes were submitted for the two ballots, which were won by Noah Reigel and Hannah Dacus.
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Mercyhurst Prep’s baseball team was a one strike away from an upset loss to Wilmington in District 10’s Class 2A championship game at Meadville. The Lakers, though, rallied for an improbable 7-6 victory.
Reigel capped the dramatic comeback with his two-run RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning. He received 305 votes as Mercyhurst’s nominee, comparted to 251 for Cathedral Prep lacrosse player Evan Kaizer.
Dacus, a member of Prep’s girls lacrosse program, also came through in the clutch. She clinched the Ramblers’ 7-6 victory in the district’s 2A final with a double-overtime goal at the expense of Conneaut (Pennsylvania).
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Dacus received 372 votes. West Middlesex’s AnnaSophia Viccari, a PIAA 2A track and field gold medalist, was second with 124.
This week’s ballot results were:
More: Alex Smith’s homers help McDowell rally for PIAA 6A playoff victory vs. State College
The Erie Times-News, Seaway Window and AHN Sports Medicine will conduct standard athlete of the week polls for the final time during the PIAA’s 2025-26 calendar year.
Such ballots will resume in late August upon the start of the state’s 2026 fall sports season.
Fans can suggest nominees for polls at sports@timesnews.com. Please include the player, school, sport and the specific reason why he or she should be the school’s nominee based on an accomplishment during that calendar week.
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Overall accomplishments won’t be accepted. Once an athlete wins a poll, he or she is ineligible to be nominated for the remainder of that specific season.
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Male: Jackson Kibbe, Union City track and field; Johnny Baumgardner, Northwestern baseball; Reese Gonzales, Northwestern track and field; Gaven Chaffee, McDowell baseball; Graedy Sharp, General McLane baseball; Connor Fortin, Harbor Creek baseball; Dalton Knapp, Titusville baseball; Noah Reigel, Mercyhurst Prep baseball
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Female: Stella Maynard, Wilmington softball; Makenzie White, Northwestern track and field; Olivia Bax, Girard softball; Madison Sump, Sharpsville softball; Samantha Bernoski, Maplewood softball; Alena Urbanowicz, Fort LeBoeuf track and field; Payton Phillips, Rocky Grove softball; Hannah Dacus, Cathedral Prep lacrosse
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: D-10 heroes top Erie Times-News Seaway Window and AHN Sports Medicine Athlete of the Week polls
