Receiving 128 votes of 255 cast, Marquette Academy softball slugger Taylor Cuchra is The Times Athlete of the Week, sponsored by Northern Insurance Group LTD; Jim Boes Services; and Christian Reynolds American Family Insurance.

Also on the ballot – the last of the 2022-23 school year – were runner-up Maura Condon (Ottawa softball), Michael Mills (Ottawa boys track and field) and Anna Bruno (Seneca girls track and field).

Cuchra earned her nomination with a great performance in the regular-season finale for the Crusaders, enjoying a five-RBI day featuring a single, double and two home runs in the Crusaders’ 13-2 win over Forreston. The first baseman went on to knock an RBI single and a two-run home run in Marquette’s 10-0 Class 1A Grant Park Regional championship win over Illinois Lutheran.

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

Do you have any nicknames?

Tiff.

The team this year has been successful with the home-run ball. What are you looking for when you step into the batter’s box?

When I get in the batter’s box, I try to clear my mind by remembering I have a job to do, and that is to either get on or move the runners.

What goes through your mind as you’re circling the bases after a homer?

That it was the best outcome that could have happened, and that I helped out my teammates.

How old were you when you began playing softball, and what league did you first play in?

8 years old in Streator Girls Softball.

Who have been a few of the most influential coaches in your life?

Jeff Gammons, Brooke Rick, Curt Johnson, Curtiss Johnson, Brad Oakes and Brian McCallum.

What are your three favorite high school softball fields to play at (you can include your home balldiamond)?

The Louisville Slugger (Sports Complex in Peoria), our home field (June Gross Field in Ottawa) and Serena.

Did you have a favorite book or book series as a kid?

No.

You’re going out to a local restaurant with teammates to celebrate a big win, and it’s your pick. Where are you going, and what are you ordering?

Longhorn Steakhouse, 8 oz. filet.

What movie would you say you’ve seen more than any other? How many times?

“The Sandlot,” probably about five or six times.

Do you have any college plans yet?

No.