​Welcome to another special summer poll as our readers pick the Herald-Times IU Health 2025-26 Team of the Year.Sorry, IU football is not eligible with the choices limited to the top high school teams in the Bloomington area.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCongratulations to Edgewood’s football/basketball/baseball standout Carter Hayden, who won the Boys Athlete of the Year poll with 34.9% of the vote (2,517) to top Lighthouse Christian’s Timothy Lautenbach (28.9%).Readers may vote as much as they like until the poll closes on Thursday, July 16 at noon. Here are the nominees:Athlete of the WeekPanthers capped off the school year with a thrilling run to the Class 4A title game, that included winning a 1-0 game while being no-hit in the semi-state final. It was their first appearance in the final since BHS did it 1972.Coming off a 1-win season, the Lions went 11-12 winning the first sectional game in program history, dumping Dugger Union behind 38 points from Ellie Mae Winders.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt was a tough ending with the injury to Julia Lashley, but the Panther seniors put on another good show, finishing 19-6 after beating North and then Terre Haute South for a sectional title.The Cougars made it back to the podium as a team, taking fourth place in Charlie Warthan’s last year as head coach  lead by Jacob Mitchell (fifth), Caelan D’Onorfrio (10th) and Caleb Winders (20th).Panthers posted the program’s best finish ever, taking third, led by Jasmine Martoglio (ninth), Lexi Kollbaum (15th), Aurelia Martoglio (37th) and Mary Asplund (56th).AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Panthers went 11-2, winning the last Conference Indiana title and then a fifth straight sectional and a third straight regional in Class 5A.The Mustangs had never made it out of sectional as a team until this year’s group, Marley Jackson, Boston Chambers, Ava Norton, Libby McElhinney and Eden Norton got the job done with a 387 and a third place finish.The Panthers came up with their best when it mattered most, bouncing back from a runner-up finish at sectional with a season low 295 to take second at the Washington Regional.The T-Birds made plenty of history in their third season, going 8-7-2 and picking up the first two postseason wins in program history, beating Mitchell 5-3 behind a Griff Hengeveld hat trick, and Lighthouse Christian 3-1.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRebuilt Panthers, even after losing star player John Henry Berry, still went 17-2-3 under new coach Jake Kabrick, winning sectional and consecutive regional titles for the first time since 2015 before running into eventual champ Carmel.Mustangs (27-5) were the area’s only sectional champion, coming up with a shocking 13-0 clubbing of 24-win No. 6 Cascade in the final before running into a hot New Palestine team at the 3A regional.The Panthers, led by two-time state champ Peter Kovacs, placed seventh as a team with 85 points.The Mustangs had their best finals ever at sect