Editor’s note: We prohibit the use of bots and any other artificial methods of voting. Suspicious activity could lead to the disqualification of candidates and a permanent suspension of the Athlete of the Week poll.
Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) boys Athlete of the Week poll.
For the entire academic year, we will provide a list of candidates who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the winner.
This week, we consider performances from Jan. 9-14.
This week, polls close at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Vote as many times as you’d like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.
Votes by email are not counted.
Scroll to the bottom for the poll.
Winners are announced each Friday online and, starting Sept. 30, in the print edition of the Mercury News and East Bay Times sports sections.
Candidates for future Athlete of the Week polls can be nominated at highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com.
We accept nominations until 11 a.m. each Monday.
We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps by coaches/team statisticians.
On to the nominees:
Alec Balica, Castro Valley soccer: The junior had himself a game against Encinal, scoring four goals to lead the Trojans to a 7-1 victory in West Alameda County Conference Foothill Division play. Balica continued his torrid play to open this week, scoring two goals Monday in a 4-0 win over San Leandro, which improved Castro Valley’s record to 6-2-3 overall and 4-1-1 in the league.
Josh Clark, Oakland basketball: The senior scored in double figures in both of the Wildcats’ victories in Oakland Athletic League play last week. He had 11 points in a 56-48 victory over Fremont-Oakland and 12 in an 81-43 rout of Skyline. Clark shot a combined 50% (8 of 16) from the field.
Andre Gonzalez Lombera, Menlo School soccer: The junior scored in the 75th minute as Menlo defeated The King’s Academy 3-2. He also scored twice in a 3-2 win over Crystal Springs and had a goal in a 3-0 win over Harker as the Knights improved to 3-0 in West Bay Athletic League play.
Max Houghton, Los Gatos basketball: Led the way with 17 points, six rebounds and six assists as the Wildcats defeated Los Altos 52-33 on Friday. Two days earlier, he had 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting — and 6 for 6 free-throw shooting — in a 60-41 victory over Palo Alto. Los Gatos ended the week 11-4 overall and 3-0 in its league.
Braddock Kjellesvig, Christopher basketball: The 6-foot-6 sophomore finished with 28 points on 10-of-11 shooting and 10 rebounds as Christopher defeated Oak Grove 59-50 in a BVAL Mt. Hamilton East Division opener. The forward/center followed that game with 26 points and 15 rebounds on 13-of-15 shooting in a 67-42 rout of Santa Teresa on Friday as Christopher improved to 11-3, 2-0.
Samir O’Brien, Berkeley basketball: Coming off a tough loss to Alameda in league play on Friday, Berkeley bounced back on Saturday at its MLK Classic with a stunning 52-34 victory over seventh-ranked California as O’Brien led the Yellowjackets in scoring with 14 points. The result improved Berkeley’s record to 12-5.
Kiratraj Sanghera, American basketball: In a 55-52 victory over Mission San Jose, the 6-foot-5 junior had 24 points, eight rebounds and five blocks. Earlier in the week, he filled the stat sheet with 31 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in a 60-59 loss to James Logan. In the two games, he was 25 for 42 shooting (60%).
Gael Segura, Half Moon Bay soccer: The senior scored a goal and assisted on another as Half Moon Bay stayed red hot with a 3-1 victory over South San Francisco in Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division play. The Cougars began this week with a record of 10-0-2 overall and 2-0 in their league.
Tyler Suzuki, Leigh basketball: The junior shooting guard helped the Longhorns open BVAL Mt. Hamilton West Division play with two victories on the road. He scored 19 points in a 64-50 win over Independence and 14 in a 65-51 win over Piedmont Hills.
Angel Vasquez, James Logan soccer: The sophomore scored both of his team’s goals as James Logan beat Kennedy-Fremont 2-0 in a Mission Valley Athletic League match. The victory improved the Colts’ record to 9-5-1, 5-1.
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