ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Boys

BRANDON HANCE

SCHOOL: Taft

YEAR: Junior

SPORT: Football

SEASON AT A GLANCE: In his first season playing varsity quarterback, Hance completed 167 of 287 passes for 2,038 yards and 22 touchdowns with six interceptions. During the City Section playoffs, he completed 66% of his passes for 832 yards and eight touchdowns with one interception.

WEEK AT A GLANCE: Hance saved his best game for the City Championship on Friday, completing 17 of 23 passes for 288 yards and four touchdowns, leading Taft High over Banning, 41-29. Hance, a transfer from Notre Dame, was the key player in helping Taft win its first City football title.

Girls

Lauren Fleshman

SCHOOL: Canyon

YEAR: Senior

SPORT: Cross-country

SEASON AT A GLANCE: Fleshman won 11 of 14 races, including her first Southern Section and state Division I titles, and finished second in the national championships at Oaks Trail Course at Shades of Green in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Saturday.

WEEK AT A GLANCE: Fleshman clocked 17:42.4 over the 5,000-meter course in Lake Buena Vista to finish 6.7 seconds behind Erin Sullivan, a senior at Mt. Mansfield High in Jericho, Vt., and the two-time champion. Fleshman finished a second ahead of sophomore Sara Bei of Montgomery High in Santa Rosa, Calif. “[Beating her] was a big deal to me in the sense that my only losses of the season [prior to the national championships] had been to her,” Fleshman said. “Now I can say that I finished the season as the top runner in California.”