The national and local government elections are thankfully over, but the ballot for the Patch MVP of the Week award is just officially opening, as we ask our readers to vote for their favorite "Athlete of the Week".

Deserving representatives from all five local high schools, Ladue, John Burroughs, MICDS, St. Joseph's, and Villa Duchesne were named to the ballot, and it's now up to the fans of these wonderful student-athletes to tell us, who they believe should be named our MVP of the Week. 

The ballot will be open until 5 p.m. Thursday, and we encourage all fans to make sure their favorite athlete is represented by voting in this week's poll.

We'll announce the winner on Sunday.

Here are this week's candidates:

• Xavier Bledsoe, John Burroughs football. The Bombers' junior defensive end had a game-high 12 tackles, including nine solo stops, and a quarterback sack to lead Burroughs to a 24-0 win over Park Hills Central in a MSHSAA Class 3 state quarterfinal game last Saturday.
• Amos Bartelsmeyer, MICDS cross country. Despite missing a full month of the fall running season, the Rams' sensational senior capped off his incredible cross country campaign with an individual state championship at the Class 3 meet in Jefferson City two weeks ago.
• Anna Reichert, St. Joseph's volleyball. The Angels' senior libero was one of the top defensive players in the area this season, ranking among the area top 10 and leading the MWAA White Conference with 446 digs and a 6.8 digs/game average.
• Ian Thomsen, Ladue hockey. Sophomore defenseman moved up to the frontline to play center with the Rams short-handed last Saturday, and only registered his first varsity hat trick in an 8-2 win for Ladue over Pattonville. 

• Morgan L. Gast, Villa Duchesne golf. Took ninth at the Class 1 state meet last month, which helped Villa to a surprising second-place finish as a team overall.