There were 42,186 votes cast this week for the Victorville Chevrolet High School Athlete of the Week.
Apple Valley freshman Jadyn Bechtel finished with 52.74% of the total votes cast by Daily Press readers.
The star football player received 22,250 votes, beating out six other high school athletes from the High Desert.
More:CIF State Wrestling Championships: Live updates, 12 High Desert qualifier results
To earn a spot on the ballot, Jadyn scored four goals to help the Sun Devils win 5-1 against Don Lugo in the quarterfinals of the CIF-Section 3 Division playoffs Feb. 3. 14.
In the semifinals on February 17, Jadyn assisted on Sarah Fort’s goal as the Sun Devils won in penalty kicks to reach the title game.
Apple Valley will face Oak Park in the championship game Friday night.
In the voting, Jadyn beat out Oak Hills pitcher and slugger Maddie Romo, who finished with 44.56% of the 18,798 votes cast.
Maddie had a big week at the plate and in the circle for the Bulldogs to start the season. In two games, Maddie struck out 25 batters over 12 innings, going 4-for-8 with three home runs and seven RBI.
Paulo Valdez, a wrestler from Hesperia, finished in third place with 1.12% of the total 473 votes.
The nominees were chosen based on performances between February 12 to 17.
The selection is based on information available to the Daily Press. All high school varsity players from the High Desert can be considered for a vote.
Nominations must be received for consideration by the Sunday morning following that week’s games. Anyone can nominate an Athlete of the Week for each college sport.
Be sure to nominate next week’s poll by emailing sports reporter Jose Quintero at JQuintero@VVDailyPress.com. Also feel free to connect with him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @J0seQuintero, or on Instagram at @VVDailyPress_Sports. Please include player stats and photos if possible.