We've scoured the stat sheets and news wires and found deserving Athlete of the Week candidates from all five local high schools, and now we've officially opened up the voting to let the fans tell us, who should get this week's honor.

We'll keep the ballots open until 5 p.m. Thursday, and we encourage all fans to make sure they vote in this week's poll. 

Here are this week's Patch MVP Athlete of the Week nominees:

• Grace Lombardo, Villa Duchesne girls basketball. After scoring just two points in her first varsity game last Tuesday, the Villa sophomore has been unbelievable, scoring 19 points and 18 points, in back-to-back close games for the Saints. Then registered one of the best games of any player in the area all season, when she dropped 26 points, with six three-pointers, in a one-point loss to No. 8 Borgia last Tuesday.
• Robin Thompson, MICDS boys basketball. The 6'6 junior forward did all he could to help the Rams break an early-season slump, scoring 13 points, with nine rebounds, three steals, and three assists against Clayton last week. Unfortunately, MICDS still couldn't get over the hump, and suffered a 55-51 loss to the Greyhounds.
• Sydney Stipanovich, St. Joseph's girls basketball. Nominated for the third straight week, the Angels' senior center had another big week to help keep SJA undefeated. In wins over No. 3 Ursuline and No. 4 Nerinx Hall, Stipanovich averaged 20.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
• Steph Kelly, John Burroughs girls basketball. The Bombers' junior forward has been dynamite in leading JBS to a 5-1 start this season. And her best performance may have come last Friday, when she had 15 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocked shots to lead the Bombers to a 36-33 win in the championship game of the Whitfield Round Robin Invitational.
• Elliott Shevitz, Ladue ice hockey. The Rams' sophomore netminder was key in helping end Ladue's five-game winless streak, with 26 saves in a huge 4-3 win over Priory last Friday.