With October set to conclude this week, Gulf Coast Media’s next Athlete of the Week poll is currently live on our website.

Four athletes from Baldwin County will be included in the voting each week, which will open at noon on Mondays and close at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Individuals can only vote for their chosen athlete once, with the winner being announced on GCM’s website and social media pages soon after polling concludes.

This week, we have a representative from the gridiron, pool, court and running trail making up the list of candidates.

To start, Gulf Shores’ Kingston Gardner has found a home on the defensive side of the ball for the Dolphins, and he produced likely the best performance of his junior campaign last Friday. During a 33-7 win over Theodore, the imposing edge rusher racked up four tackles for loss, a trio of sacks, one pass breakup and even tallied 10 yards rushing to showcase that he still can make an impact offensively.

Meanwhile, Baldwin County’s volleyball teams were participating in Super Regionals last week, and Daphne’s Khloe Smith helped propel her team to its first State Tournament appearance since 2017. The junior setter eclipsed the 500-career assist mark during her team’s Super Regional win over Davidson on Wednesday, and the Lady Trojans went on to finish as runners-up in the bracket.

Elsewhere, Robertsdale’s Noah McDaniel stole the show at the Baldwin County Championships Meet 5K last Tuesday. The senior placed 1st overall in the boys’ race with a time of 16:27.49, which was 13 seconds faster than the second-place finisher. McDaniel also broke the Golden Bears’ school record for the second time this season, and the team as a whole placed 5th out of 10 teams overall.

And lastly, Fairhope’s Pearson Jenkins has been a standout in the pool all season, and he’s managed to qualify for the upcoming state meet in Huntsville for the 100-yard backstroke, 100 flystroke, 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay. Amidst his fifth year of competing for Fairhope’s swim team and ninth competitively, the junior’s main event is flystroke with a personal-best time of 57.8.

Pearson Jenkins

Vote at the link below to support your favorite local athlete, and be sure to share the poll with family and friends!

And if you would like to nominate an athlete for this weekly polling, email parker@gulfcoastmedia.com or message our social media pages (@GCMSportsAL) with information on their accomplishments, applicable personal info (grade, position, etc.) and a photo(s).

With that being said, GCM is also always happy to share any other local sports content from Baldwin County. To any coach, parent or athlete, feel free to send over any written work, photos or videos through the same mediums.