Being named the Athlete of the Year is not recognition to take lightly.
It’s about more than just winning and losing. It’s about showing teamwork, leadership, consistency, hard work and athletic ability.
This past year, there were several players who fit the mold in Augusta sports.
Brett Rawlings was the boys basketball team’s hard-working leader. He led the team in points, rebounds and assists (Kudos to all of his fans who helped him win the online poll).
Zach Peters won an individual State championship in wrestling this season. Hard to argue against that.
Nick Nordman finished second in the Class 5-1A State bowling championship and had a superb season.
On the softball team, there were several candidates: Taylor Reichard, Kaitlin Kennedy, Kayla Sears all had spectacular seasons.
While all of those candidates are worthy, there’s one who stood out above the rest.
(Drum roll please)
This year, the Gazette recognizes Alexa Poore as Augusta’s Athlete of the Year (cue the crowd noise).
Poore was named to the first team all-Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail League Division III in all three sports she played her senior year – volleyball, basketball and soccer. That’s no easy feat.
The reason she earned those honors is because she is an all-around great athlete who can play just about any position in each of those sports.
In volleyball, she led the team with a little more than 10 kills and eight digs per match. She led the basketball team in scoring and assists. On the soccer team, she solidified the backline as an all-league defender and could score when she needed to.
Poore also was a great student-athlete, earning first team all-academic awards as well. She showed her smarts on the field and courts, too.
Other year-end awards—Individual achievement: Zach Peters wins this award hands down. Peters won the 125-pound weight class wrestling State championship. Team MVP: Brett Rawlings was more valuable to the boys basketball team than any other player to his or her team. He handled the ball, scored the ball and set up others better than anyone. Players to watch: Of course, sports guys like myself always have to look ahead. Next year, some athletes to keep an eye on are Kaitlin Kennedy (softball), Shane Smith (football, boys basketball, track and field) and Kyrsten Crawford (girls basketball and soccer).
