Baltimore Sun’s high school Athletes of the Week (Nov. 29-Dec. 5): Mervo’s Kylish Hicks and Mount Carmel’s Tsion Smith

Each week, The Baltimore Sun will recognize one high school boy and girl for their athletic achievements.

Boy Athlete of the Week: Kylish Hicks, Mervo, football

The senior safety/wide receiver dominated the fourth quarter to help the No. 9 Mustangs (11-1) secure the program’s first Class 4A/3A state title in a 22-13 win over previously undefeated Dundalk Thursday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. With the nine-point lead going into the fourth quarter, Hicks intercepted two passes with both takeaways ending threats in the end zone and his second coming with 2:34 left.

After falling behind 13-0 in the first quarter, the Mustangs blanked the Owls’ potent offense the rest of the way with Hicks leading the team with 10 tackles.

‘We did it for our brother’: Honoring late teammate Elijah Gorham, No. 9 Mervo football defeats No. 6 Dundalk, 22-13, in Class 4A/3A for first state title https://t.co/7BVDpGr4cG
— Sun Varsity Letters (@SunVarsity) December 3, 2021

Girl Athlete of the Week: Tsion Smith, Mount Carmel, basketball

The senior guard was a catalyst in two big wins for the Cougars last week as they improved to 3-0 on the season. In Wednesday’s 59-43 win over Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference foe Roland Park, Smith finished with 14 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists. In the team’s IAAM B1 opener against two-time defending league champion St. Paul’s — a 61-48 win — she made six 3-pointers on her way to a game-high 23-points with four rebounds.

A three-year varsity player and captain at Mount Carmel, Smith is averaging 15.3 points per game this season.

Previous winners

Nov. 22-28: Marcus Hines, Loyola Blakefield, football (boy); Zaria Ragler, Arundel, volleyball (girl)

Nov. 15-21: Donnie Lewis, Calvert Hall, football (boy); Stephanie Lathrop, Glenelg, soccer (girl)

Nov. 8-14: Antonio Camacho-Bucks, Centennial, cross country (boy); Christina Candella, Arundel, field hockey (girl)

Nov. 1-7: Rich Monath, Calvert Hall, soccer (boy); Ruby DeFrees, Spalding, field hockey (girl)

Oct. 25-31: Benjamin Siriboury, River Hill, golf (boy); Helen Yeung, River Hill, golf (girl)

Oct. 18-24: Ty Dailey, Dulaney, cross country (boy); Samiha Foster, Reservoir, volleyball (girl)

Varsity Highlights

Weekly

Get the latest high school sports stories, photos and video from around the region.

Oct. 11-16: Jordan Fiorenza, Dundalk, football (boy); Cassi Shields, Westminster, volleyball (girl)

Oct. 4-9: Jacob Murrell, McDonogh, soccer (boy); Dani Mendez, Garrison Forest, field hockey (girl)

Sept. 27-Oct. 2: Bisi Owens, Glenelg, football (boy); Izzy Rothwell, Bryn Mawr, field hockey (girl)

Sept. 20-25: Jordy Eckman, Loyola Blakefield, soccer (boy); Elizabeth Pickett, Bel Air, cross country (girl)

Sept. 13-18: Devin Roche, Dunbar, football (boy); Maya Everett, Broadneck, field hockey (girl)

Sept. 6-11: Noah Brannock, Calvert Hall, football (boy); Mackenzie Calhoun, Glenelg, volleyball (girl)

To nominate candidates, please email Glenn Graham at ggraham@baltsun.com by 6 p.m. Sunday with details about the student-athlete’s performance from the past week.