Athletes of the Week: Bulldogs make history, Buehnerkemper does it all

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The votes are in. Powered by Copper Creek Contractors, the entire Mahomet-Seymour volleyball team and Nolan Buehnerkemper of the Monticello football team are this week’s winners. Here they are, in their own words, with their biggest supporters — their teammates:

Mahomet-Seymour volleyball team

Why the Bulldogs are Athletes of the Week: After becoming the first Mahomet-Seymour volleyball team in program history to make it to state, the Bulldogs took it even further by winning a Class 3A state title. They swept DePaul College Prep in the semifinals before completing a miraculous comeback to beat Limestone in three sets in the championship.

My favorite movie is … “The Greatest Showman” because I love the music to it, and it’s an exciting movie. — Addi Eisenmann

My favorite sports team is … Butler volleyball, and my favorite athlete is Simone Biles. — Ellie Barker

If I could have any superpower, I would pick … teleportation so I could go anywhere at any time. — Kennedy Kimball

The one song that always gets everyone pumped up in the locker room is … “Party in the U.S.A.” by Miley Cyrus. — Ava Yeakel

Our go-to post-win celebration is … going anywhere with food. — Hannah Martin

My dream career is … a firefighter because I have always seen them as an inspiration to me and the community, and I want to be that inspiration to others. — Erin Dallas

My biggest volleyball superstition is … wearing my hair in a low ponytail and wearing all black to school on game days. We wore black to school, and I wore my hair that way when we beat Central in the postseason, and from there, it was a whole team superstition for every postseason game. — Annika McNaught

Three things on my bucket list are … committing to play college volleyball, make an All-Apollo Conference team next fall and surpassing 50 blocks in one season for my senior year. — Addy Reigart

If I could have dinner with any three people from any time period, I would pick … Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell. — Lily Bosworth

The bond of this team … is crazy. We were already super tight at the beginning of the season, but it’s still so crazy how much closer we all got throughout the season. We all grew not only as players and athletes, but also in our relationship with God, and we’re state champs. — Charlotte Sinclair

We pulled off the comeback in the state championship match … through the grit everyone had. Everyone knew what it took, and it was a matter of whether or not we were going to give up because we were tired or play for each other. — Pfeifer Manuel

Knowing we made school history makes me feel … grateful. I’m very grateful for the people who were with me. Going to state and winning state was a great experience, and I’ve learned a lot. — Penelope Bird

If I could win state in any other sport, I would pick … basketball or softball because the feeling of winning state with a team you love is like no other, and I wouldn’t want to do it by myself. — Emma Scott

Next year … we will most likely come in with high expectations after how successful this year was. The overall goal is simply to have such a joyful and fun season, just like how it was this year. — Anna Streicher

Ending my high school career as a state champion makes me feel … sad that the season’s over, but I’m glad I got to end it on a high note. Ending my season on a win isn’t something every senior can accomplish. — Ellie Dallas

Nolan Buehnerkemper | Monticello football

Why he’s Athlete of the Week: Buehnerkemper recorded a team-high 15 tackles in the Sages’ 27-26 Class 3A quarterfinal win over Benton. He also made a pair of field goals, the longest from 31 yards out. He then reeled in 12 passes for 102 receiving yards, tallied seven tackles and made a 29-yard field goal in Monticello’s 23-20 state semifinal win over Unity.

From Buehnerkemper: “It’s a great honor. Throughout the week, going from class to class, everyone was talking to me about it and saying they voted for me. I couldn’t really go anywhere around the school without somebody bringing it up. It was kind of crazy. … We obviously wanted to keep the season going, and it was a great environment (in the playoffs). In the playoffs, you’ve just got to survive and advance, and that’s what we did.”

My favorite movie is … “Remember The Titans.”

My favorite music genres are … rap and country.

My favorite athlete is … my brother, Tanner Buehnerkemper.

If I could have any superpower, it would be … teleportation to get places quicker. I don’t really like traveling, and I would save some gas, too.

My pre-game routine is … after school, I go home, take a quick nap and then get something small to eat. Maybe half a grilled cheese. I get back to school and stretch a lot and do some mobility work.

Our go-to post-win celebration is … somebody gets on the speaker in the locker room, and we have a big dance party while listening to music. After that, we’ll sometimes go to Filippo’s or McDonald’s.

My biggest football superstition is … as a team, we don’t repeat jersey combos that we’ve lost in. If we have success with a combo, we stick to that.

My favorite football memory is … every year, we go to an obstacle course in Mahomet, and we have a big cookout and play some games. That’s always fun and brings some good memories.

At the top of my bucket list is … winning my fantasy football league this year.

Athlete of the Week finalists: Dane Eisenmenger, Unity football; Ethan Hall, Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin football; Bo Zeleznik, LeRoy football.