Somonauk/Leland boys cross country runner Cade Hamer is The Times Athlete of the Week, winning 90.9% of votes in an online poll on a ballot that also included runner-up Piper Stenzel (Seneca girls golf), Rylie Carlson (Newark girls volleyball) and Justin Delgado (Serena boys soccer).

Hamer and teammate Landin Stillwell – a Times Athlete of the Week winner last school year – scored a tag-team victory in 25 minutes, 2.25 seconds in the Ottawa Nautical Mile Relays at Catlin Park.

Weekly ballots go online Mondays and are accessible via Facebook (The Times Sports) and Twitter (@jtpedelty), with voting going through midday Wednesday.

Here is a Q&A with this week’s winner:

Do you have any nicknames?

Hamer: Hamer

You mentioned in our story from the Ottawa Nautical Mile Relays that you’re relatively new to cross country. What made you decide to go out?

Hamer: It was a mix of things, but one thing I think that really drove the decision home was that it’ll be my last year to run with the boys (Landon Stillwell and Gunnar Swenson).

You and Landin Stillwell make for a strong one-two punch. How does having another strong runner on the team lift your performance, and do you think you help lift his?

Hamer: I honestly don’t know if I lift his performance, but I would like to think I do. He definitely helps the team and myself by pushing us and by his knowledge of running/training.

What do you need to work on to continue reaching your goals this season?

Hamer: I would say I need to continue to push myself harder and stretch more, lol.

What is your favorite course you’ve run on so far, and what made it stand out?

Hamer: I wouldn’t say I have a favorite course yet. So far I would say that I liked parts of each course and disliked parts of them. For instance, I like how the Seneca course was a fast course, and also the Plano course was flat and did not have much elevation change.

What was your favorite cartoon growing up? When was the last time you watched it?

Hamer: Definitely “Scooby Doo!” The last time I think I watched it was the Thursday of the Sandwich Fair.

If you could see any musical artist in concert anywhere in the world tomorrow night, all expenses paid, who would you choose and where would you see them?

Hamer: That’s a though question. It would be between Nickelback, Insane Clown Posse or Metallica. Ultimately, I would have to go with Nickelback in Athens, Greece, at the Theatre of Dionysus, or at the Black Forest in Germany.

What movie would you say you’ve seen more than any other, and about how many times?

Hamer: Happy Gilmore. I think I’ve seen it about seven or eight times.

The team’s going out to a local restaurant to celebrate a big win, and you get to choose the place. Where are you going, and what are you ordering?

Hamer: Easily the Village Courtyard and getting Buffalo chicken George and a root beer.

Is there something about you that people who only know you through sports might find surprising?

Hamer: That soccer is my favorite sport might surprise people considering that my two sports this year are XC and track.

Do you have any plans for after high school? Do they involve sports?

Hamer: I want to become a teacher. I think I would like to teach either Physical Education or preferably be a middle school history/social studies teacher. I enjoy learning about history a lot and have for some reason been drawn to the teaching profession.