Winter sports are beginning to hit the postseason as the calendar turns to February. Some local athletes are helping lead their teams to important wins and others are gearing up for league tournaments in several sports. Here are this week’s selections for Journal-World Athletes of the Week:

Jessica Berg, Free State

Berg has been a force for the Free State girls wrestling program all year as a freshman. In the Shawnee Mission North Invitational, Berg won the 120-pound bracket with a 3-0 record, with all three wins coming from first-period pins.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Jessica Berg gets a pin in the 5th Annual Leavenworth Challenger on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Leavenworth.

Sy Thomas, Eudora

The Eudora boys basketball team is 8-7 with wins in five of its last six games, the last two having come down to the wire. Thomas hit a half-court buzzer-beater to lift the Cardinals above Ottawa on Jan. 30, and he scored 17 points for the Cardinals in their 54-53 win over Tonganoxie on Tuesday, which put the Cardinals above .500 for the first time this season.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Eudora sophomore Sy Thomas makes a shovel pass against Bishop Miege on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025 in Eudora.