Butte High volleyball player Avery Barsness and Butte Central football player GG Fantini are this week’s Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week.

Barsness takes home the girls’ honor, while Fantini receives the boys’ award.

Barsness, a 5-foot-7 hitter, smacked a team-leading 14 kills Thursday as the Bulldogs knocked off Kalispell Flathead in a four-set match at the Richardson Gym. She added two blocks and five digs in the home victory.

The next day, Barsness spiked eight kills and registered a pair of blocks in a 3-1 home loss to Kalispell Flathead. Barsness is ranked second on the team with 139 kills on the season. She ranks fourth with 19 blocks.

Barsness also plays basketball and softball for the Bulldogs.

Fantini, a 5-11, 185-pound junior receiver/linebacker, had a monster game to help the Maroons pick up perhaps their biggest win of the last decade, a 38-27 playoff-clinching win over Dillon. Fantini hauled in six passes for 102 yards. That includes a 67-yard touchdown reception from Ryan Peoples.

Fantini also got Central’s scoring started with a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The victory was the first for BC over Dillon since the 2014 regular-season, and it sends the Maroons to the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

For the third year, Leskovar Honda is teaming up with the ButteCast to honor the finest student-athletes from the Mining City to encourage more children to get up, get out and try all kinds of sports and activities.

Photo of Barsness courtesy of Alycia Holland Photography. The photo of Fantini was provided by Jalen “Hollywood” Foley.