Enquirer announces Aug. 28 athlete of the week winners

The Enquirer's readers chose the first Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine Athletes of the Week winners for the 2026-2027 high school sports year for activity through Aug. 23.

Using new polling software, Enquirer/Cincinnati.com readers were able to vote for their favorite high school Athletes of the Week on their desktop, the Cincinnati.com mobile web or Cincinnati.com app as much as they'd like, with a refreshed page. 

Here are the athletes they chose among entire slates of great performances.

More: How to add names to Enquirer's high school athlete of the week ballot

Ohio big-school football team ‒ Little Miami: Little Miami shut out South Dearborn for a 28-0 season-opening win.

Ohio small-school football team ‒ Deer Park: Deer Park ran over Norwood for a 43-0 shutout victory.

Northern Kentucky/Indiana football team ‒ Boone County: Boone County raced past Holmes for a 36-8 victory.

Boys fall team ‒ Elder golf: The Panthers shot a 308 on Aug. 23 to win the Harry Alexander Open. Elder also won the Centerville Invitational on Aug. 9.

Girls fall team ‒ Seton soccer: The Saints are 3-0 and haven’t allowed a goal this season, beating Anderson 8-0, Fairfield 6-0 and Centerville 3-0.

Northern Kentucky/Indiana boys cross country ‒ Henry Kramer, Bishop Brossart: The freshman opened his season with a bang, winning the Diocese of Covington Championship in 17:49.18, just two seconds shy of a personal best. 

Northern Kentucky/Indiana girls cross country ‒ Stella Carpenter, Ryle: The junior took eighth place at the Louisville St. Xavier Tiger Run thanks to a new personal best of 19:00.94. 

Ohio big-school football player ‒ Oliver Young, Kings: Young ran 15 times for 131 yards and three touchdowns in Kings' 34-6 win over Sycamore.

Ohio small-school football player ‒ Levi Guttman, Cincinnati Country Day: The senior quarterback scored the winning touchdown with 14 seconds left in a 30-26 win over Summit Country Day in the Country Day Cup, capping an 80-yard drive. He was 14-of-20 passing for 269 yards and one TD, and rushed for 91 yards and two scores. He also had two solo tackles and four assists on defense.

Northern Kentucky/ Indiana football ‒ Steven Johnson, Boone County: The senior carried the ball 18 times for 232 yards and scored two touchdowns in a win over Holmes. 

Boys golfer ‒ Casey Kopecky, Loveland: Kopecky was the medalist in the Lakota East Invitational and ECC Preview before tying for fifth at the Anderson Invitational.

Girls golfer ‒ Maria Penaranda, Notre Dame: At the Crosstown Classic in early August, she shot a 76 to win the tournament.

Ohio big-school boys soccer player ‒ Carson Prewitt, Elder: The senior had three goals in the team’s first two games, including two in a 3-1 win over Badin.

Ohio small-school boys soccer player ‒ Owen Beske, Ross: The senior had two goals and an assist in a 3-0 win over Western Brown.

Northern Kentucky/Indiana boys soccer player ‒ Lucas Inderhees, East Central: The senior scored a hat trick in the team’s opening game of the season against Oldenburg Academy on Aug. 15.  

Ohio big-school girls soccer player ‒ Lexi Willis, Little Miami: The senior made 20 saves in a 2-1 win over Sycamore.

Ohio small-school girls soccer player ‒ Mary Eagleston, Wyoming: The sophomore scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Monroe.

Northern Kentucky/Indiana girls soccer ‒ Quinne Danneels, Calvary Christian: The senior scored two goals in a 6-1 win over Pari.

Ohio girls tennis singles player ‒ Elena Gregorsok, Cincinnati Country Day: The junior secured a straight-set first singles victory to lead CCD past Seven Hills, 3-2.

Ohio girls tennis doubles team ‒ Sophia Curbelo-Emma Krauser, Little Miami: The junior duo posted wins in their first two matches of the year.

Ohio big-school volleyball player ‒ Dri Naranjo, Kings: In her first varsity match, the freshman had 14 assists, five digs, three kills and two aces in a win over Lebanon. 

Ohio small-school volleyball player ‒ Emma McGraw, Roger Bacon: She totaled 38 assists, 18 digs, seven kills and four aces as the Spartans started the season 2-0. 

Northern Kentucky/ Indiana volleyball player ‒ Lucy Lenihan, Holy Cross: The senior had 11 kills, 12 assists, six digs and four aces in a sweep of Dixie Heights. 

How to get Enquirer winners' certificates from the 2025-2026 school year

For past winners: The Enquirer will no longer mail certificates to schools after getting feedback that families weren't receiving them. Alex Harrison will make digital copies of all certificates available to families by 8 a.m. the Monday after the Friday win. Families will access the PDFs through this public Dropbox link. Once printed, families can email a photo to mlaughman@enquirer.com for our gallery.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Enquirer announces Aug. 28 athlete of the week winners