20-05-2025
Morton soccer player voted Journal Star athlete of the week for May 5-10.
Claire Ceresa of the Morton girls soccer team was voted the Journal Star high school athletes of the week for May 5-10.
Ceresa scored four goals last week, helping the Potters go 2-0-0. The sophomore put two in the back of the net in last Tuesday's 8-1 win over Dunlap. She then tallied another pair of goals as Morton beat Normal West, 10-2. The Potters are 17-2-0 overall and 6-0-0 in Mid-Illini Conference play, wrapping league play Tuesday against Washington.
Advertisement
If you have a nominee for the honor, email us at sports@ or tag us on Twitter @pjstarsports. Last week, Weston Lange and Jack Hessing of the Metamora boys tennis team was named JS athlete of the week.
Griffin Meeker, Tremont baseball
Meeker hit for the cycle last week. The junior shortstop went 4-for-4 from the lead-off spot in last Monday's 13-3, five-inning win over Fisher. He doubled in the first, hit a two-run, inside the park home run during a four-run second, added a triple in the fourth and completed the four-hit day with one-out single in the fifth.
Kaidance Till, Metamora softball
Till went perfect over three games last week. She was 8-for-8 with two doubles, three home runs and five RBIs. The Ole Miss signee added seven runs, three walks, a stolen base along with a sacrifice fly. She homered in each of the three contests, highlighted by a 4-for-4 outing with two doubles and a solo home to beat Canton, 14-0 five-inning win on Thursday. Till is batting .696 on 48 hits with 15 doubles, 12 homers, 32 RBIs and 28 walks in 26 games.
Trae Brickner, Peoria Christian boys track and field
Brickner earned three victories at the Tremont Invite on Friday. The junior swept the hurdles, winning the 110-meter (15.42 seconds) and 300-meter (42.91 seconds) races. He also set a personal-best in the pole vault, clearing the 12-foot mark for the victory. PCS (76 points) finished third behind runner-up Deer Creek-Mackinaw (94 points) and champion Illini Bluffs (116 points).
Peoria Christian track and field athlete Trae Brickner of Dunlap, Illinois, won the Boys 15-16 Decathlon at the 2024 AAU Junior Olympics on July 28 in Greenville, North Carolina.
Jordyn Manbeck, Dunlap girls track and field
The senior won three events at the Mid-Illini Conference Girls Championship last Wednesday. On the Metamora track, Manbeck won the 100-meter dash (12.49 seconds) to go with victories in the 4x100-meter (49.57 seconds) and 4x200-meter (1:44.62) relays. Her other event was a runner-up finish in the 200-meter dash (26.41 seconds). Those points from Manbeck helped Dunlap win the team title with 150 points.
Dunlap's Jordyn Manbeck, far left, sprints to victory in the 100-meter dash during the Mid-Illini Girls Track and Field Championships on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at Metamora High School. Pekin's Zoe Liedtke, middle, finished fourth and Dunlap's Olivia Jacobson, far right, finished fifth. Manbeck recorded a time of 12.49.
Ethan McRaven, Dunlap boys tennis
McRaven won his pair of matches as Dunlap beat Metamora, 5-4, in a four-hour marathon match on Tuesday. He posted a 6-1, 6-4 singles victory. The senior then teamed with Alex Fei in the No. 1 doubles match, winning 6-2, 6-2. The Eagles win handed Metamora, which started 2025 at 19-0, its first dual-meet loss of the season.
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@ Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Results of poll for high school athlete of the week for Peoria Journal Star
