It was an evening of celebration in Viking Gym Friday night as Avery High School honored its best and brightest students in both athletic and academic prowess.Athletics Director Matthew Bentley was Master of Ceremonies as awards for team, individual, and coaching achievements both on the field and in the classroom were handed out at the 40th annual Avery High School Athletic Awards Banquet.
A total of 21 athletes were recognized by being named All-Conference selections in sports during the 2007-08 school year, while a number of individual athletes were recognized for other notable accomplishments during the past school year.
Those honored for individual achievements included:
Kyle Cable- WHC Basketball All-Tournament team
Jared Clark- Elite Sports Team Hawaii Baseball Selection
Caroline Crenshaw- Cross Country State Qualifier
Stephen Daniels- Elite Sports Team Hawaii Baseball Selection
Judi Dillashaw- state qualifier and earned All-State in both track and field and Indoor Track. Finished fifth in state in Shot Put, Back-to-Back State Champion in Discus Throw
Katie Ellis- WHC Basketball All-Tournament Team
Jordan English- Wrestling State Qualifier
Katelyn Eudy- Cross Country State Qualifier
Kim Gragg- Blue/White All Star Selection, Basketball
Kate Griewisch- Cross Country and Track State Qualifier, 5th in state in 3200 m Track, 6th in state in 1600 m Track, Athletic Scholarship to Lenoir-Rhyne College
Jonathan Hensley- Wrestling State Qualifier, Wrestling Regional Champion and 2nd in State, Wrestling All-State
Teddy Jablonski- Cross Country State Qualifier
Preston Jennings-Athletic Scholarship to Emory & Henry College
Laura Lacey- WHC Basketball All-Tournament Team and Conference Tournament MVP
Anna Melton- Tennis State Qualifier
Hayley Pyatte- WHC Basketball All-Tournament Team
Katie Peters- Soccer All-State
Trevor Shields- Athletic Scholarship to Mars Hill College
Ginny Smith- Track and Indoor Track State Qualifier, 8th in state in Indoor Track High Jump, 2nd in state in Outdoor Track High Jump, Athletic Scholarship to Mars Hill College
Mary Chesnut Smith- Cross Country and Track State Qualifier, 4th in state in 800 m Track, 4th in state in 1600 m Track, 10th in state in Cross Country
Morgan Yackey- Softball No-Hitter
Several additional special awards were doled out at the ceremony on Friday evening. The
Assistant Coach of the Year Award was given to Pat Daniels for his time and dedication to a number of Vikings sports programs. The Avery County Head Coach of the Year honor was awarded to Missy Lyons for the tremendous season her varsity girls basketball team enjoyed in 2007-08, resulting in a conference tournament title and berth in the 1A Western Regional Tournament.The Avery High Booster Club awarded its annual scholarships to two worthy persons in seniors Andrea McFee and Jonathan Hensley.
Avery High’s Roger Wise presented this year’s Sportsmanship Awards to seniors Kate Griewisch and Preston Jennings for their displays of exemplary sportsmanship both on and off the field.
Scholar-Athletes of the Year were awarded by Avery High School Principal Mark Garrett to Viking seniors Kate Griewisch and Lucas Carver for their merit in the classroom while also excelling in the athletic arena.
The final individual awards of the evening were the Avery Athletes of the Year. Katie Peters was the female recipient of the award, while the male award went to Jonathan Hensley.
Earlier in the ceremony Avery High recognized several individuals for their unique service and contributions to Avery athletics, including Susan Hawkins for her work and support as Avery’s athletic trainer, and Bill “Buster” Dellinger with the Loyal Viking Award for his numerous years as video recorder for numerous varsity sports. Head coaches Art Williamson and Libby Wit were also presented with Viking Service Awards in appreciation for their time and dedicated service to Avery athletics programs.
While numerous sports accolades were lauded for the 2007-08 school year, Avery students were also outstanding in the classroom setting. In addition to the aforementioned scholar-athlete awards, a total of nine teams (women’s track, women’s tennis, women’s soccer, softball, men’s soccer, cross country, volleyball, and women’s basketball) were recognized for their academic excellence, honored by being named North Carolina High School Athletic Association Scholar Athlete Team Award winners.
The women’s track team was singled out by the NCHSAA as the overall Scholar Athlete Team Award winner in its sport with the highest cumulative grade point average among all teams in the state of North Carolina. The team’s award was recognized at the NCHSAA’s annual meeting in Chapel Hill back on May 1st.
As well, the NCHSAA recognized at its annual meeting Vikings women’s soccer head coach Tom Evaul with the Toby Webb Coach of the Year Award for his storied career and contributions to high school athletics in North Carolina. Both honors were noted and recognized at Friday’s awards banquet.
An impressive total of 79 athletes were named Western Highlands Academic All-Conference, which demands a student maintain a 3.25 or higher overall grade point average, with 58 athletes earning NCHSAA Scholar Athlete Awards, where athletes must maintain a 3.5 or higher GPA.
