Meet the nominees for Press-Citizen's Athletes of the Week, Feb. 5-11

It was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it week in high school sports in the Iowa City area.

With strong performances in district competition on Saturday, a number of wrestlers punched their ticket to the Iowa boys state wrestling tournament — which will be held Wednesday through Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The girls basketball regular season ended on a strong note while boys basketball is inching closer to its postseason.

Here are the nominees for the Iowa City Press-Citizen’s high school Athletes of the Week for Feb. 5-11. Press-Citizen.com readers vote to decide this week’s winners.

Girls

Natalie Ramsey, Iowa City Liberty

Ramsey had a strong start to the week for the Lightning. She scored 22 points in a 68-27 win over Dubuque Senior on Monday, Feb. 5. She then dropped 19 points and six rebounds in a 48-44 win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson on Tuesday, Feb. 6.

Ramsey continued with another strong performance for Liberty in their 58-44 win over Waterloo West on Thursday, Feb. 8. She had a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 13 rebounds — including nine on the defensive end.

Hailey Miller, Solon

Miller made strong contributions for Solon this past week, scoring 20 points with three 3-pointers in a 71-20 win over Independence on Tuesday, Feb. 6.

Miller scored 19 points on 8-of-11 from the field in a 78-22 win over Fairfield on Saturday, Feb. 10.

Morgan Miller, Regina

Miller scored 20 points in back-to-back road games for the Regals this past week. She scored 21 points with five 3-pointers in a 53-33 win over West Liberty on Tuesday, Feb. 6.

The third-year guard then dropped 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a 73-28 blowout over Wilton on Wednesday, Feb. 7.

August Palmer, Iowa City High

Palmer led City High in two of its three games this past week. Palmer scored a team-high 27 points on 11-of-19 from the field in an 83-54 win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Friday, Feb. 9. She also tallied six rebounds and snatched six steals.

The third-year Little Hawk tallied 24 points and four assists in a 70-53 loss to Waukee Northwest on Saturday, Feb. 10.

Ava Locklear, Clear Creek Amana

Locklear — like she’s been all season — was a rebounding force. She snatched 10-plus boards in each of the Clippers' three games last week.

Locklear’s strongest performance was on Tuesday, Feb. 6 against Williamsburg. The CCA senior finished with 20 rebounds in the Clippers’ 20th win of the season. She also tallied 11 points and six assists.

Boys

TaeVeon Stevens, Iowa City West

Stevens scored a team-high 22 points on 8-of-13 from the field in a 71-52 win over Cedar Rapids Washington on Thursday, Feb. 8. Stevens had a shooting touch from behind-the-arc — making five 3-pointers.

Tate Wallace, Regina

Wallace, a freshman, has performed well for the 14-6 Regals. He scored 16 points on 11-of-16 from the field in a 54-39 win over West Liberty on Tuesday, Feb. 6. He also had four assists.

Despite a 71-70 loss to Wilton, Wallace had a stat line of 14 points, seven assists and four rebounds on Wednesday, Feb. 7.

Jake Benzing, Solon

Benzing scored a team-high 20 points with three 3-pointers against Independence on Tuesday, Feb. 6. He also tallied four rebounds and two steals.

Benzing also scored 20 points in a loss to Williamsburg on Friday, Feb. 9.

Kael Voinovich, Iowa City High

Voinovich had a successful outing at the 3A district wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 10.

The 157-pounder earned a district title with a pair of falls to extend his record to 37-1. His first fall came against Muscatine’s Aiden Mohagen in 1:31 while his second win was against Fort Madison’s Nolan Riddle in 1:22.

Vincenzo Lima, Liberty

Lima won a wrestling district title on Saturday, Feb. 10.

The 215-pounder earned two wins to clinch a spot in the state wrestling tournament. He scored a pin over Newton’s Nick Milburn in 2:42 then earned a major decision win over Ankeny Centennial’s Mitchell Grider. It pushed his record to 29-2.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Vote: Iowa City Press Citizen's Athletes of the Week for Feb. 5-11