Nick Hall and Devyn Makin were named Most Valuable Players for the boys and girls track and field teams at an awards banquet Thursday, May 26.
Makin, a junior, won the long jump and placed second in the 100 at the Sky-Em District meet, then placed second in the long jump and sixth in the 100 at state, while helping the girls 4×100 relay team to a second-place finish.
Hall, also a junior, won two events at the Sky-Em district meet and was high scorer for the boys, scoring in both the 400 and 300 hurdles at state, as well as on the 4×100 relay.
“He could have placed at state in the 800, with his range of ability,” Coach Billy Snow said. “He ran the hurdles but he could score anywhere.”
He said both athletes were leaders in work ethic and attitude, as well as being extremely versatile and scoring points for the team – all qualities taken into account in choosing the MVPs.
Other honorees were Coaches Award winners Alex Santana and Annie Whitfield, who were cited for their reliability and willingness to sacrifice individually for the team. Santana, a senior, suffered a serious hamstring injury late in the season but won the 100 and anchored the boys short relay team to victory at the district meet to a sixth-place finish at state.
“We’re going to miss his leadership in the locker room and out on the field,” Snow said.
Whitfield, a junior, was called upon to throw the shot, in addition to the javelin and running a leg on the short relay, at districts, coaches noted. Snow said she also wanted to triple jump and pole vault, but coaches squelched those ideas.
The Hustle Award, which honors athletes who “get after it in practice as much as they would for a meet, always going 100 percent and doing what a coach or workout asks,” went to senior Patrick Long and Hall for the boys, and sophomore Sabrina Davis and freshman Courtney Kent for the girls.
Coach Ramiro Santana described Davis as “one of the hardest workers” on the team and said Kent is “very quiet – you can’t hear her say something – but she never says no.”
The Will to Win Award, to athletes who “prepare themselves physically and mentally daily for success and go into competition knowing they will give whatever it takes to succeed, and always leave their best effort out on the field or track,” went to throwers Jake Johnson, a junior, and senior Zach Jackson for the boys, and senior distance runners Olivia Johnson and Carissa Swanson for the girls.
First-year Discus Coach Aaron Watts, himself one of the best throwers to come out of Sweet Home, said he was impressed with the level of workouts the Huskies complete in practice these days and said that his biggest problem with Johnson was “telling him to go home.” Johnson finished with a personal best of 140-10, to tie for second in the school record book.
Newcomers of the Year were freshmen Ashton Stutzman for the boys and Nicole Rasmussen for the girls, both of whom competed for the Huskies at state this year, Stutzman in the 4×400 relay and Rasmussen in the 3000.
Throwers of the Year were Whitfield, who placed second at state for the second straight year in the javelin and who reset her own school record three times this year, finishing at 142-4, and Jackson, who placed second in the javelin at the district meet and third at state after posting a personal best of 177-5, second in the school record book.
Sprinters of the Year were Alex Santana and Hall for the boys, while Makin was named the girls honoree.
Jumpers of the Year were Harvir Grewal for the boys and Kaitlin Keenon for the girls. Grewal, a senior in his second year of track and field, cleared a personal best of 11-6 in the pole vault, a PR of 2 ½ feet and season best of 3 feet. Keenon, also a senior, made state in the triple jump with a 1 1/2-foot PR to finish second at 32-3 ½ feet.
Distance Runners of the Year were sophomore Daniel Danforth, who made state in the 3000, and seniors Olivia Johnson and Carissa Swanson. The girls have trained together since they were freshman and both made state, Johnson in the 3000 and Swanson in the 800 and 1500.
Four-year letter winners for the girls were Josie David, Olivia Johnson, Maria Kropf, Carissa Swanson and Sami Webb. Alex Santana was the lone four-year letter winner for the boys.
Three-year boys letter winners were Alex Coakley, Nick Hall, Zach Jackson and Joe Stroud. Girls three-year letter winners were Caroline Amendola, Kaitlin Keenon, Devyn Makin, Laura Mauer, Jessika Stewart, Brandi Trewin and Annie Whitfield.
Girls two-year letter winners were Sabrina Davis, Kelika Kaniaupio, Paige Sanders and Christina Ulmer. Boys two-year letter winners were Chris Carpenter, Daniel Danforth, Kyle Hummer, Jake Johnson, Patrick Long, Taylor Mauch, Zach McClure and Dakota Snow.
First-year letter winners for the boys were Harvir Grewal, Chace Hutchins, Zane Jackson, Spencer Knight, Alex Larsen, Matthew Long, Angel Negron, Evan Ray, Mykle Riggle, Donald Rinehart, Scottie Stockman, Ashton Stutzman and Lorenzo Virgen.
First-year letter winners for the girls were Sonya Corliss, Crystal Crites, Sadie Gordon, Courtney Kent, Kaitlyn Long, Tiffany Miller, Meghan O’Donnell, Nicole Rasmussen and Kaitlyn Watts.
For the boys, Elric Benson, Steven Bishop, Ryan Blackwell, Caleb Castle, RJ Frederick, Travis Hult, David Johnson, Zach Pratt, Tony Ramirez, Jacob Richardson, Kyle Rose, David Skeen, Ben Terry, Troy Underwood, Justin Webb, Sorin White, Ian Wingo, Quin Wise, Kyle Wodtli and Parke Young all received junior varsity certificates.
JV certificate recipients for the girls were Emily Claborn, Macy Cockrell, Brittany Davies, Chan-cey Fuesler, Jordanna Harvey, Jessica Hoover, Rozaliya Minigulova, Tashana Mithen, Chloe Muir, Peyton Plebuch and Hannah Rice.