Haughton’s Giddings wins Shreveport Times Athlete of the Week 6 poll

Haughton’s Alyssa Giddings garnered enough votes recently to win the seventh annual Shreveport Times online poll for Athlete of the Week, sponsored by Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission and Silmon and Cosse Orthodontics.A standout cross country athlete for the Lady Buccaneers, Giddings made a strong run in winning the non-football poll for the 2024-25 school year. She joins past winners that include Benton’s Sam Ivins and Brody Hutchison, along with Caddo Magnet’s Elena Pizarro and Calvary’s Jackson Burney.Giddings received 9,739 votes (65%) of the 20,312 votes cast in the online poll to top second-place Katelyn Clarke, a Loyola volleyball player, who made a strong run with 6,812 votes (35%).STANDOUTS: Here’s your week 9 Northwest La. superlative football performancesNEW WINNERS: Woodlawn, NCHS notch inaugural 2026 wins before HalloweenEVANGEL WINS: Evangel hangs on to win ‘phenomenal’ football game vs. AirlineGiddings will receive a backpack, a boxed lunch combo and some additional swag courtesy of Raising Cane’s and Cosse and Silmon.“Alyssa is one of my hardest-working runners,” Haughton coach Victoria Martin said. “She’s never satisfied and constantly looking for ways to improve. A personal record is just the next time to beat. She’s also a top-notch mentor and has really taken the underclassmen under her wing, setting up our team to be successful in this season and beyond.”Giddings was chosen because of her performance the previous week or because her name was submitted by her coach. The Times poll is posted each week at shreveporttimes.com with a new slate of student-athletes in high school sports other than football.Also on the Week 5 Non-Football poll were Alaina Stoute, Parkway cross country; Dalton Bliss, Benton cross country; Claire Jacobsen, Airline volleyball; Maddie Luoma, Byrd volleyball; Taliah Bates, Huntington cheer; Maite Monsivais, Northwood volleyball; Jane Ramsey, Ruston volleyball; Kendall Rhodes, NCHS volleyball; Samarie Glynn, Many volleyball; and Emma Derrick, North DeSoto cheer.The Times online only poll runs through Friday evening. The poll includes northwest Louisiana athletes competing in volleyball, cross country, swimming, cheerleading, basketball, soccer, wrestling, powerlifting, indoor and outdoor track, baseball, softball, golf, tennis, bowling, gymnastics and fishing while those sports are in season.Jimmy Watson covers Louisiana sports for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.PREVIOUS WINNERSWeek 6: Alyssa Giddings, Haughton cross countryWeek 5: Layla Davidson, Benton volleyballWeek 4: N/AWeek 3: Ava Puckett, Ruston cheerWeek 2: Rylee Gunter, Many volleyballWeek 1: Sam Irvins, Benton cross countryThis article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Haughton’s Giddings wins Shreveport Times Athlete of the Week 6 poll