Prep Athlete of the Week: Dylan Uhlenkott

Prairie of Cottonwood has gained late-season football momentum, winning its last three games and climbing the ranks of the Class 2A Whitepine League in the process.

At the forefront of that surge has been senior Dylan Uhlenkott, who amassed 350 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the Pirates’ pivotal 46-32 victory over Potlatch on Oct. 11. The rushing effort, along with his 13 tackles in the game, brought him further reward when he was voted the Tribune’s Prep Athlete of the Week.

Averaging over 9 yards per carry, Uhlenkott is “one of the better running backs in our league for sure,” according to Prairie coach Ryan Hasselstrom.

“We’ve had him carry the ball 25, 26 times a game — which is normally not what I’d like to do, but he’s had such good success,” Hasselstrom said. “I don’t want to overuse him, but he’s kind of our go-to guy.”

Uhlenkott is also a standout for the Pirate track-and-field team, with which he took part in three Idaho Class 1A DI state record-setting relays this past spring.

“He’s a good kid,” Hasselstrom added. “He’s the last of the Uhlenkott family up here; they’ve always been great athletes. Good family, real hard-working kids.”

In discussing this award, Uhlenkott added that he would like to give “praise to my linemen, who do the hard work so I can get the yards.”

After finishing high school, he is interested in going to Lewis-Clark State College to study diesel tech.