Athlete of the Week: Downers Grove South Runner Amanda Thate

A note from the editors at Patch:

By the voting deadline for this week's Athlete of the Week (9 p.m. Oct. 26), Amanda Thate of Downers Grove South had 44 percent of the votes, making her the clear winner.

Freshman Amanda Thate has been Downers Grove South's No. 1 cross country runner in every meet this season except for the WSC Gold conference championship two weeks ago.

The only thing holding her back from another top finish was a turned ankle, which caused her to slow down. Her postseason took a turn for the better at the Lyons Regional, where she finished third overall in 17 minutes, 56 seconds to help her team advance to the Lockport Sectional this weekend.

"Amanda has had an amazing freshman season so far," Mustangs coach Doug Plunkett said. "Everyone knew that she was going to be a really good runner coming into the season, but she has certainly exceeded my expectations."

Thate has run under 18 minutes for three miles in four meets this season.

Plunkett put it in perspective by adding that only four other girls in Downers Grove South school history have broken 18 minutes, and no one else has done it more than once.

"Her addition to an already good team has really pushed us over the edge and given us our best opportunity in the last 10 years to qualify the team for the state meet," Plunkett said. "If she stays healthy and continues to run well, she also has the opportunity to finish in the top 25 at state."

Here are the other Patch Athlete of the Week nominees:

: Aaron Bailey, junior, quarterback. Bailey completed 6-of-8 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown and also rushed 10 times for 135 yards in a win over Lockport.

: Damon Aleman, senior, quarterback. Aleman helped Lemont complete a perfect regular season by completing 6-of-10 passes for 161 yards and three touchdowns in the last game of the regular season.

: Kim Simmons, senior; Madeline Carney, senior, tennis players: Simmons and Carney won three matches to earn Benet six team points in the state meet. The Redwings finished tied for 15th overall.

: Sarah Leganski, freshman, cross country runner: Leganski helped the Hornets advance from the Lyons Regional to the Lockport Sectional with a team-best time of 18 minutes, 31 seconds. She placed ninth overall.

: Aron Nava, senior, cross country runner. Nava became one of five individuals to advance from the Plainfield South Regional to the Lockport Sectional. He's the only Romeoville runner in sectionals.