Vote for Blue FCU's Fort Collins-area Boys Athlete of Week (May 18)
· Yahoo Sports
The Coloradoan is again proud to present our weekly Athlete of the Week series, partnering with Blue Federal Credit Union to honor the best Fort Collins-area high school athletes in the 2025-26 school year.
There are five nominees every week, and fans can vote every Monday through Thursday at coloradoan.com/sports.
Visit mchezo.co.za for more information.
This is the 34th week of the 2025-26 sports year, as we're down to just a handful of local teams still competing across three remaining sports.
You can find the nominees and the ballot below. Voting is open this week until 11:59 a.m. on May 21, with the winner announced later that same day.
Fans can nominate their favorite athletes (deadline: 11:59 p.m. every Sunday) and the Coloradoan sports staff will ultimately select the nominees each week.
If you have nominations for a future Athlete of the Week, please send them via email to [email protected] for consideration.
Meet the Blue FCU Boys Athlete of the Week nominees
The following Fort Collins-area boys athletes are nominated for their performances May 11-16:
- Nate Blehm, Wellington baseball: The senior put the team on his back in a 3A regional final, leading Wellington to its first-ever state baseball tournament. Blehm tossed a complete-game, one-hit shutout in a 4-0 win vs. No. 6 Prospect Ridge Academy after going 1-for-3 with an RBI in a 6-5 win vs. No. 11 Sterling.
- Owen Gabbert, Wellington baseball: Speaking of the Eagles, Gabbert set the tone while batting second in both regional games. The junior outfielder got on base all seven times, going 3-for-3 with three walks, a hit-by-pitch, three stolen bases and scored three of Wellington's 10 runs in the upset regional wins.
- Alec Lundy, Heritage Christian track and field: Lundy closed his career as a state champion, bouncing back from an earlier hurdles DQ to win the 2A 300 hurdles in 39.42 seconds. The senior also took second in the 2A high jump at 6 feet, 2 inches, a mere 2 inches off the top mark. Lundy was also 9th in the 2A 200 meters.
- Cadel Ruthven, Fort Collins track and field: What a state meet for Ruthven, who finally got an individual running state title. The senior roared to the 5A 1-mile title, surged to second in the 5A 800 and took fourth in the 5A 2-mile, scoring 24 points himself in the Lambkins' blowout run to the 5A boys team title.
- Kaden Souders, Fort Collins baseball: Though the Lambkins didn't advance to state, it was a day to remember for the senior slugger. Souders had two homers and six RBIs in an 8-inning regional comeback win over Heritage, including a walk-off grand slam to win it. Souders also had three RBIs in the regional final.
Vote here:
Chris Abshire covers high school and community sports for the Coloradoan.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Poll: Vote for Blue FCU's Fort Collins Boys Athlete of Week (May 18)