Avery High School celebrated one of its greatest seasons of prep athletics last week with its annual athletic awards banquet held in Viking Gym. The best and brightest student-athletes were recognized during the ceremony for their successes both on the field and in the classroom.Athletic Director Matthew Bentley served as the Master of Ceremonies as team, individual, and coaching achievements were honored.
Over the course of the evening, a grand total of 219 varsity letters were awarded to Avery athletes, with many student-athletes taking home awards for multiple sports. An impressive 28 athletes were recognized by being named All-Conference selections in sports during the 2009-10 school year, a total ten greater than a season ago.
Below is the full list of special awards to athletes by sport:
Baseball
Defensive Player of the Year: Jared Clark; -Offensive Player of the Year: Steven Daniels; Most Valuable Player: Daniel Huff
Girls Basketball
(Western Sectional Champions; Regional Semi-finalists) JV: Western Highlands Conference champions Coach’s Award- Hayley Pyatte; Lady Viking Impact Award – Elyse Perry; Defensive Player of the Year: Katelynn Eudy; Offensive Player of the Year: Sara Wiseman; Most Outstanding Player: Lauren Avery
Women’s Tennis
Coach’s Award: Morgan Stout; Viking Awards: Leah Powell, Lauren Avery; MVP: Anna Melton
Volleyball
Offensive Player Award: Cassie Bumgarner; Most Valuable Defensive Player Award: Jennie Elrod; Coach’s Award-Melinda Eggers; Best All-Around- Savannah Dellinger
Men’s Soccer
Most Improved Player: Brock Yackey; Coach’s Award: Daniel Huff; Offensive Player Award: Isauro Estrada; Defensive Player Award: Morgan Bounds; Most Valuable Player: Kyle Griewisch
Cross CountryCoach’s Award (boys): Jared Clark; Coach’s Award (girls): Caroline Crenshaw Boys MVP: Mark Polsgrove; Girls MVP: Mary Chesnut Smith
Cheerleading
MVP (football): Ramona McGowan; MVP (basketball): Megan Robbins; Cheerleader of the Year: Meredith Condrey; Spirit Award: Jessica Wiseman
Men’s Basketball
Coach’s Award: Mark Polsgrove; Offensive Player Award: Dustin Clarke; Defensive Player Award: Luke Pittman
Track & Field
Men’s Team MVP: Alex Villanueva; Men’s Most Outstanding Runner: Kyle Griewisch; Girls MVP: Caroline Crenshaw; Girls Most Outstanding Runner: Mary Chesnut Smith
Men’s Golf
Most Improved Player: Shea Buchanan; Most Valuable Player: Chase Watson
Women’s Golf
Sportsmanship Award: Nikki Wright; Most Valuable Player: Catalina Lehmann
Wrestling
Coach’s Award: Lucas Lecka; Most Improved Wrestler: C.J. Vance; Most Outstanding Wrestler: Brock Yackey
Softball
Coach’s Award: Becca Biggerstaff; MVP: Amber Clark
Women’s Soccer
Most Improved Player: Kaley Faulkner; Coach’s Award: Melinda Eggers; Coach’s Award: Mercedes Bentley; Viking Award: Elyse Perry; Defensive Award: Megan Robbins; Defensive Award: Katelynn Eudy; Offensive Player of the Year: Emily Banner; Most Valuable Players: Mary Chesnut Smith & Hayden Blackburn
Football:
Offensive Lineman of the Year: Jacob Barnett; Offensive Back Players of the Year: Alex Villanueva and Andy Gonzalez; Defensive Back Player of the Year: Taylor Potter; Defensive Line/Linebacker Player of the Year: Dylan Aldridge; Coach’s Award: Cody Greene; Charles “Babe” Howell Award: Colton Blackburn; Elmer Aldridge Hard Hit Award: Nathaniel Buchanan
Not only did the Vikings excel on the field, but also were successful in the classroom. An astounding total of 54 athletes earned NCHSAA Scholar Athlete Awards, where athletes must maintain a 3.5 or higher unweighted grade point average for the school year.
During the evening a number of special awards were handed out recognizing special individual achievements. Mercedes Bentley (Western Highlands Conference Ladies Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year), Morgan Bounds (Western Highlands Conference Men’s Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year), Dustin Clarke (Western Highlands Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year), and Mary Chesnut Smith (Western Highlands Conference Women’s Soccer Player of the Year) were honored.
Smith was recognized later in the ceremony as she was named the Western Highlands Conference Athlete of the Year. Avery men’s basketball head coach Bo Manis also was recognized for receiving the Western Highlands Conference Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year.
Avery High School Assistant Coach and Head Coach of the Year Awards were also given during the evening’s festivities. Athletic trainer Susan Hawkins was named the Avery High School Assistant Coach of the Year for the time and tireless dedication to all the sports at Avery.
The Avery County Head Coach of the Year honor was awarded to soccer coach Tom Evaul, who received a standing ovation from the capacity crowd in Viking Gym. Evaul was applauded for the tremendous seasons his men’s and ladies soccer teams enjoyed in 2009-10. Coach Evaul’s résumé from this past season included being named the Western Highlands Conference Coach of the Year, the Region 10 Soccer Coach of the Year, as well as the NCHSAA 1A Women’s Soccer State Coach of the Year, leading the Avery Lady Vikings to their first-ever appearance in a state championship game and just the second championship game appearance by any Avery athletic team in the school’s history.
There were a number of emotional moments during the ceremony. Former Avery wrestling coach Hank Hardin surprised his former wrestler Matthew Bentley in making a special presentation upon Bentley’s announcement that he is not returning as athletic director next school year. A number of Bentley’s former wrestlers were also on hand to honor their former head coach and mentor.Senior soccer player Kyle Griewisch presented a plaque to soccer coach Tom Evaul on behalf of the men’s soccer senior players thanking him for his commitment and relationships with them through their careers. Avery senior cheerleaders Ariel Byrd and Ariel Franklin also presented outgoing head cheerleading coach Cary Dominguez with a catalog and plaque.
A number of students were recipients of special individual awards. Director of Athletics Matthew Bentley doled out Sportsmanship Awards to seniors Elyse Perry and Luke Pittman for their displays of exemplary sportsmanship both on and off the field.
The Avery Athletic Boosters presented awards to seniors Jared Clark and Lauren Avery for their excellence this past season. Avery seniors Kyle Griewisch and Caroline Crenshaw were honored with the Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards, respectively.
The final individual awards of the evening were the Avery Athletes of the Year. Kyle Griewisch was named the Male Athlete of the Year, while fellow senior Lauren Avery received the Female Athlete of the Year honor.
“This was an exceptional season for Avery athletics,” ACHS Athletic Director Matthew Bentley stated following the ceremony. “We had a very good group of kids this year who worked hard in the classroom and on the field.”
Congratulations to all Avery athletes on a tremendous 2009-2010 school year!
