MarshfieldAreaSports.com
It is time to vote for the Grassland Dairy High School Athlete of the Month for February.
MarshfieldAreaSports.com & Zaleski Sports co-sponsor the award, which is in its 11th year, and Grassland Dairy is onboard as the new main sponsor.
Varsity athletes from the following high schools are eligible to be nominated for the award: Abbotsford, Amherst, Athens, Assumption, Auburndale, Colby, Columbus Catholic, D.C. Everest, Edgar, Granton, Greenwood, Iola-Scandinavia, Loyal, Marathon, Marshfield, Mosinee, Neillsville, Pacelli, Pittsville, Port Edwards, Rosholt, Spencer, Stratford, Stevens Point, Waupaca, Wausau Newman Catholic, Wild Rose, Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln and Wittenberg-Birnamwood.
Online voting will take place from 4 p.m. March 1 through 4 p.m. March 8 at MarshfieldAreaSports.com. The winner of the February Athlete of the Month will be announced on March 9 and will be presented an award. Voting is limited to one vote per day, resetting each day.
The winners of the MarshfieldAreaSports.com & Zaleski Sports High School Boys and Girls Athlete of the Year will be announced on July.
Winners of the Athlete of the Month awards are ineligible to be nominated again during that particular sports season.
All decisions regarding voting and nominations made by MarshfieldAreaSports.com and Zaleski Sports are final.
The nominees for the February award are:
*Brynden Beck, Port Edwards boys basketball. Beck, a junior guard, hit for double figures in scoring in each of the Blackhawks’ seven games in February as they went 5-2. He had 26 points in a WIAA Division 5 regional quarterfinal win over Eleva-Strum on Feb. 27, and drilled six 3-pointers and finished with 23 points in a victory over Tri-County on Feb. 8. Beck is averaging 17.9 points per game with 71 3-pointers this season for Port Edwards.
*Carter Freeman, Wisconsin Rapids wrestling. Freeman, a junior, won the Division 1 126-pound championship at the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament on Feb. 24. Freeman defeated Wisconsin Valley Conference rival Easton Cooper of D.C. Everest 3-1 in the championship match to up his record to 48-4 heading into the Team State Tournament on March 1-2.
*Ava Gardner, Marshfield wrestling. Gardner became the first girls state wrestling champion in program history as she won the 100-pound title at the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament on Feb. 24. Gardner, a junior, rolled to a 17-4 major decision over two-time state champ Brooke Corrigan of De Pere and finished the season with a 27-1 record in girls competition.
*Rory Salvesen, Wittenberg-Birnamwood girls basketball. Salvesen, a sophomore guard, scored more than 20 points in five of the Chargers’ seven games in February, all wins, as they won a Division 3 regional title. Salvesen had a season-high 39 points in a victory over Menominee Indian on Feb. 6, and had 23 and 24 points in W-B’s two playoff wins over Waupaca and Menominee Indian.
*Grant Warren, Marathon boys basketball. Warren, a senior forward, closed out the regular season with a career-high 43 points in a 21-point victory over Auburndale on Feb. 22. Warren, averaging 22.6 points per game heading into WIAA postseason play, also had games of 30 points in a win over Abbotsford on Feb. 2 and 29 in a blowout victory over Edgar on Feb. 19.