Vote now: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week

Editor’s note: We prohibit the use of bots and any other artificial methods of voting. Suspicious activity could lead to the disqualification of candidates and a permanent suspension of the Athlete of the Week poll.

Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) boys Athlete of the Week poll.

For the entire academic year, we will provide a list of candidates who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the winner.

This week, we consider performances from March 13-18.

Polls close at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Vote as many times as you’d like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.

Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted.

Scroll to the bottom for the poll.

Winners are announced each Friday online and, starting Sept. 30, in the print edition of the Mercury News and East Bay Times sports sections.

Candidates for future Athlete of the Week polls can be nominated at highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com.

We accept nominations until 11 a.m. each Monday.

We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps by coaches/team statisticians.

On to the nominees:

Hayden Burton, Oakland Tech baseball: The sophomore went 3 for 5, scored three runs and stole three bases in Oakland Tech’s 9-3 victory over Hayward. He is batting .450 on the season.

Keaton Cooper, Branham baseball: Helped lead the Bruins to three wins, finishing the week 6 for 9 with five RBIs and a home run. In a 14-3 victory over Scotts Valley, he went 2 for 3 with a homer and four RBIs. Also had a walk-off hit in one of the team’s two league wins over Santa Teresa. The victories improved Branham’s record to 8-1.

Chris Forney, Gunderson baseball: Struck out 11 and allowed one run as the Grizzlies rolled over San Jose 6-1 in a non-league game. The senior also had a hit in four at-bats for a team that finished the week 2-2.

Jacob French, Benicia baseball: Helped Benicia win three games during the week. Went 3 for 4 with four RBIs and a home run in a 10-4 victory over American Canyon in the first game of a doubleheader. Also struck out eight in 3 1/3 innings and had two doubles in a 7-1 victory over Vanden earlier in the week.

Paul Kuhner, Acalanes track and field: The junior finished first in the 400 at the San Ramon Valley Sprint and Field Festival, running a personal record 49.43. He was the only participant to finish with a sub-50-second time.