With the sports calendar flipping to October in the coming days, 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 blazing cross-country runner and a trio of standouts from the gridiron making up the list of candidates.

In the area’s marquee football game Friday, St. Michael’s Nygel Mitchell stole the show.

The junior tailback terrorized Bayside Academy’s defense throughout the evening, as he carried the ball 35 times for a whopping 250 yards and four touchdowns. Mitchell’s 7.1 yards per carry and plethora of explosive plays helped propel the Cardinals to a 37-19 win in the rivalry contest.

“I’ve really just been keeping my head down, not listening to the outside noise and playing the game I love,” Mitchell said of his performance. “I love football, so I just block everything out and do what I have to do.”

Meanwhile, Orange Beach’s Cal Creel also shined on the ground with two rushing scores in a 45-0 win over Marion, but the junior was also one of two players to earn the team’s weekly Special Teams Award for his efforts in that phase of the game.

Elsewhere, Gulf Shores’ football team may have been on a bye week, but the Dolphins still witnessed some of their athletes shine over the weekend. 

Junior cross-country runner Nolan Langley placed eighth out of 193 runners in the Dolphin Run, which was held at the Graham Creek Nature Preserve on Saturday. Langley’s time of 16:57.95 beat his personal record by 39 seconds, and the hosting Gulf Shores squad placed 7th out of 24 possible teams.

And lastly, the Elberta football program picked up its first win of the season with a dominant victory over Chickasaw on Friday, and do-it-all quarterback Seamus Owens was a major reason why. 

Commonly referred to as “Moose,” Owens carried the ball 34 times for 190 rushing yards and five touchdowns, and he even completed a pass for 60 yards as the Warriors cruised past the Chieftains.

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