On Tuesday June 9th Cranberry Middle School held its annual awards banquet in the school cafeteria. A total of 74 athletes were recognized during the evening for their excellence both in the athletic arena and in the classroom.A total of 74 athletes participated in at least one of the 11 sports offered by the school, with 30 of those competitors participating in more than one sport during the sports year.
Students, parents, and teachers enjoyed dinner together prior to the awards ceremony before a number of awards were doled out to the student-athletes.
Cranberry principal Kim Davis opened the festivities by presenting the Robin Austin Scholar-Athlete Awards. The awards are given to one boy and girl in eighth grade who participate in multiple sports while maintaining a high grade point average. This year’s male recipient of the award was Ian Franklin, while MacKenzie Thomas was the female recipient of the honor.
Gwen Clark, horticulture teacher at Avery High School and with Future Farmers of America, informed those in attendance of the excellence of Cranberry’s students who participated along with Avery Middle School students with the Hunter Safety Team.
Clark announced that a number of Cranberry students received trophies through the Hunter Safety program, which included rifle, skeet, and archery among other activities. She presented three permanent trophies to Principal Davis for the school’s trophy case for hunting skills, skeet, and overall.
Wildcat team members Dakota Guy and Ty McCoury joined Avery Middle School’s Jordan Benfield and Walker Carswell to form this year’s middle school squad.
Each middle school coach presented ribbons and certificates of participation to athletes in attendance, while coaches also presented special awards for outstanding individual achievement.
The following students received outstanding individual award plaques or recognition in their respective sports:
Softball: All-Conference- MacKenzie Thomas & Holly Cook; All-Tournament: Kota Turbyfill; Hustle Award- Destiny Finley; Most Improved- Ashley Botelho and Autumn Church
Soccer: Coach’s Award- Graham Avery; Most Improved- Peter Tufts
Football: Sportsmanship-Cody Clawson; Most Valuable Player-Bryce Pittman
Cheerleading: Coach’s Award-Krishelle Pearson; MVP-Chelsey Kirkpatrick
Boys Basketball: MVP- Shea Buchanan and Bryce Pittman
Wrestling: Most Improved- Ethan Webb
Baseball: Coach’s Award-Alex Barker; Most Improved-Jake Hinshaw; MVP-BJ Ruppard
Golf: Coach’s Award-Harley Foster
Volleyball: MVPs-Dani Carpenter and Arizona Clawson
Girls Basketball: MVPs-Kristen Burleson and MacKenzie Thomas
Track: Coach’s Awards- MacKenzie Thomas and Andrew Burleson
Following the awards ceremony, Principal Davis concluded the evening’s festivities by sharing a few brief words of thanks and presenting a hanging flower basket and card to Cranberry Middle School Athletic Director Patti Franklin, who will not be returning in the capacity of athletic director next school year.
“I want to thank Patti for all she’s done for our sports. Everything has ran so smoothly this year, parents were contacted, the kids knew when and where they were supposed to be,” Davis said during the presentation. “Patti has just been a phenomenal athletic director and we appreciate all she’s done.”
Athletic Director Franklin was grateful for the honor and expressed her gratitude to those she has served this season. “When I first started at the beginning of the year, I thought “Oh my gosh” because I have not played sports in a really long time and was never much of an athlete. This has been a wonderful experience for me because I know how important this is to your children,” Franklin said as she addressed the parents and students. “We need to keep helping this program grow so that Cranberry has all the sports that it now offers.”
Congratulations to the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats on a great sports year!
