The week of Oct. 18-24 was the final week of the regular season for four high school football teams from the Ames area, and it was the first week of playoff competition for another school from the area.
Roland-Story opened Class 2A high school football competition by crushing Grand View Christian, 35-0, in a first round game on Oct. 23 at Kerry Van Winkle Field in Story City.
Ballard, the No. 7 team in 4A, fell to No. 3 Carlisle by a 35-3 score at Carlisle, and Gilbert saw its season come to a close with a 49-27 loss at 4A No. 10 North Polk on Oct. 23. Nevada ended its season on a high note with a 50-7 victory over Knoxville.
Ames played at No. 5 Sioux City East on Oct. 22. The Little Cyclones suffered a 35-0 loss to the Black Raiders.
It was also a big week for high school boys cross country as state qualifying meets took place across the state.
Three-time 3A defending state champion Gilbert is headed back to state to go for its fourth crown in a row after winning the 3A qualifying meet at the Lakeview Country Club in Winterset on Oct. 21. Ballard qualified two individuals for state from the Winterset qualifying meet, and Nevada is sending one runner from the 3A qualifying meet in Clear Lake.
Roland-Story's Corben Lucchesi is headed back to state after placing second individually at the 2A qualifying meet in Eagle Grove on Oct. 22. Collins-Maxwell's Jacob Toornstra is also returning to Fort Dodge after qualifying at the 1A meet in Colfax on Oct. 22.
There were several impressive individual performances by male high school athletes from the Ames area during the week.
Here are the Ames Tribune male Athlete of the Week nominees for the week of Oct. 18-24. AmesTrib.com readers vote to determine the winner, who will be announced at the end of the week.
Fiston Carlson, Roland-Story
Carlson had a great game running and catching the football for the Roland-Story football team during its 35-0 2A first round playoff game on Oct. 23 at Kerry Van Winkle Field in Story City.
Carlson ran the ball 12 times for 113 yards and three touchdowns. He also had one reception for 42 yards.
Zach Stevermer, Gilbert
Stevermer helped the 3A No. 1 Gilbert boys cross country team claim another qualifying meet team championship at the 3A qualifying meet in Winterset on Oct. 21.
Stevermer was one of four Tigers that qualified individually for state on time. He placed fourth behind teammates Logan Bleich and Jacob Tallman, the top two runners in 3A, and No. 7 Ryler Hanson of Bondurant-Farrar after crossing the finish line of the 5-kilometer course in 16 minutes, 56.4 seconds.
Caleb Bolles, Ames
Bolles was one of two Ames boys runners to qualify for state from the 4A qualifying meet at the Southeast Polk cross country course on Oct. 21 in Pleasant Hill.
Bolles placed 15th individually. His 5-kilometer time of 17:14.33 was just a fraction of a second faster than teammate Levi Turk, who also qualified for state after placing 16th in 17:14.46.
Malcolm Toornstra, Collins-Maxwell
Toornstra is headed to the state cross country meet for the second year in a row after placing in the top 10 individually in the varsity boys race at the 1A qualifying meet in Colfax on Oct. 22.
Toornstra's 5k time of 17:47.61 was good enough for seventh place and a trip to state.
Graden Hermann, Ballard
Hermann is making his first trip to the state cross country meet as an individual qualifier after placing 14th at the 3A qualifying meet in Winterset on Oct. 21.
Hermann completed the 5k course in 17:29.8 to finish in the top 15 and earn a trip to Fort Dodge.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Vote for Ames Tribune male Athlete of the Week for Oct. 18-24