North DeSoto’s Reni Mason tops Week 35 Shreveport Times Athlete of the Week voting
North DeSoto’s Reni Mason garnered enough votes this week to win the fifth annual Shreveport Times online poll for Athlete of the Week, sponsored by Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission and Silmon and Cosse Orthodontics.
A standout baseball player for the Griffins, Mason becomes the first Griffin baseball player to win in the non-football poll for the 2023-24 school year. He joins previous winners that include Benton’s Claire Allen and Brody Hutchison, along with Caddo Magnet’s Elena Pizarro and Calvary’s Jackson Burney and Calvary’s DJ Lynch.
Mason and his supporters accumulated 2,159 votes, a solid 28.23% of the 7,647 votes cast in the weekly online recognition. Those numbers allowed Mason to top a field of 14 additional candidates, including Loyola powerlifter Hugh Herzog, who finished second with an impressive 1,977 votes (25.85%).
Mason will receive a duffle bag, a boxed lunch combo and some additional swag courtesy of Raising Cane’s.
“Reni Mason is a guy who you root for,” NDHS baseball coach Bo Odom said. “He is always working when no one is watching trying to be the best he can be by putting in the extra work needed. He is the definition of a team player who will sacrifice his own agenda for the betterment of the team. He is a guy you love to coach.”
Others on the 35th ballot of the school year were Zion Smith, Airline track; T’La Dewitt, Huntington track; Ramsey Walker, Calvary softball; Summer Brumley, Converse softball; Alyssa Gooden, Stanley softball; Emery Craig, Zwolle softball; Cali Deal, Quitman softball; Mia Norwood, North DeSoto softball; McKynzie Smith, Logansport softball; Hayden Phipps, Northwood baseball; Chance Hatfield, Captain Shreve baseball; Brooks Prewitt, Benton baseball; Ryder Planchard, Byrd baseball; Aubrey Hermes, Calvary baseball; Landry Powell, Glenbrook baseball; Jacob Cassels, Evangel baseball; SJ Driggers, Parkway baseball; James Hollingsworth, Northwood track; and Cambria Holmes, Southwood powerlifting.
They were chosen because of their performance the previous week or because their names were submitted by their coach. The Times poll is posted each Monday at shreveporttimes.com with a new slate of student-athletes in high school sports other than football.
The Times online only poll runs through Thursday midnight. The poll includes northwest Louisiana athletes competing in volleyball, cross country, swimming, cheerleading, basketball, soccer, wrestling, powerlifting, indoor and outdoor track, baseball, softball, golf, tennis, bowling, gymnastics and fishing while those sports are in season.
Jimmy Watson covers Louisiana sports for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
Week 1: Elena Pizarro, Caddo Magnet swimming
Week 2: Claire Allen, Benton cross country
Week 3: Brody Hutchison, Benton cross country
Week 4: Josiah Dang, Parkway swimming
Week 5: Sidney Hicks, Natchitoches Central volleyball
Week 6: Raylon Bailey, Airline volleyball
Week 7: Jackson Burney, Calvary cross country
Week 8: Alexandra Campanella, Calvary volleyball
Week 9: Ava Frith, Airline volleyball
Week 10: Zachary Seaton, Caddo Magnet cross country
Week 11: Analyse Fuqua, Northwood cheerleading
Week 12: Audrey Jordan, Caddo Magnet soccer
Week 13: Logan Olsen, Airline wrestling
Week 14: Blake Guin, Providence Academy basketball
Week 15: Danon Walker, Airline wrestling
Week 16: Abbie Hooper, Haughton basketball
Week 17: Mikey Washington, North DeSoto wrestling
Week 18: Kingston Charles, Airline wrestling
Week 19: Caden Robison, North DeSoto wrestling
Week 20: Jackson Larkins, Airline wrestling
Week 21: Abigail Jacobs, Benton soccer
Week 22: Natalie Davis, Haughton wrestling
Week 23: Ethan Plunkett, Parkway wrestling
Week 24: John Rushing, Byrd soccer
Week 25: Kalli Cosse, Byrd soccer
Week 26: Rodrieon Dillard, BTW basketball
Week 27: Abby Friday, Converse softball
Week 28: DJ Lynch, Calvary softball
Week 29: Grace Chaisson, Caddo Magnet softball
Week 30: Kayleigh Goss, Haughton softball
Week 31: Alston Zhang, Caddo Magnet tennis
Week 32: Loren Sivils, Calvary softball
Week 33: Christina Gegg, Benton softball
Week 34: Ashton Neighbors, Haughton baseball
Week 35: Reni Mason, North DeSoto baseball
Preseason Fan’s Choice POY: Sicily Fontaine, Airline volleyball
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: North DeSoto’s Mason tops Week 35 Times Athlete of the Week voting
