A total of 135 student-athletes and 26 teams representing southwest Missouri high schools were honored during the Sports Commission Awards sponsored by Elliott Lodging and presented by Blevins Asphalt on Monday night at the Oasis Hotel & Convention Center in Springfield.
Monett High School’s Kaesha George and Webb City High School’s Terrell Kabala were named the Girls Athlete of the Year and Boys Athlete of the Year, respectively. The Springfield Catholic High School Girls Golf Team and the Hartville High School Boys Basketball Team were named the Teams of the Year.
It all played out in front of a crowd of 437 as organizers adhered to Springfield-Greene County Health Department and City of Springfield guidelines.
The event was put on by the Springfield Sports Commission with assistance from the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Categories covered football, volleyball, baseball and softball as well as sports offered to both boys and girls: basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, track and field, tennis and wrestling. Track and field are now four separate categories (track events, field events), while wrestling featured divisions for weight classes from 106 pounds to 152 and then 160 to 285.
Marching Band, Cheerleading and Dance Team finalists also were recognized. Inspiration Awards were bestowed on Dora High School basketball fan, 8-year-old Damon Emery, Willard High School senior wrestler Michael Finley; Anya Smith, a fifth-grader supported by the Logan-Rogersville High School Dance Team; and Ethan Maddox, the student-manager for the Marshfield Lady Jays Basketball Program.
A selection committee narrowed down each category to the top five athletes, or six if one school is represented by two athletes in one sport. A list of finalists can be found at www.mosportshalloffame.com.
The list of winners is as follows:
2020 SCA Winners
Girls Tennis – Erin Jarvis, Springfield Catholic
Boys Swimming & Diving – Ben Hines, Nevada
Girls Golf – Kayla Pfitzner, Springfield Catholic
Girls Cross Country – Klaire Brown, Kickapoo
Boys Cross Country – Daelen Ackley, El Dorado Springs
Softball – Izzy Erickson, Reeds Spring
Boys Soccer – Kyle Sutton, Branson
Volleyball – Birdie Hendrickson, Logan-Rogersville
Football – Isaiah Davis, Joplin
Marching Band – Camdenton High School
Girls Swimming & Diving – Maggie Moore, Summit Prep Academy
Girls Wrestling – Lizzie Miller, Buffalo
Boys Wrestling – lower weights – Sean Sax, Waynesville
Boys Wrestling – upper weights — Trevor Christian, Lebanon
Girls Basketball – Priscilla Williams, Branson
Boys Basketball – Aminu Mohammed, Greenwood
Inspiration Award – Damon Emery, Dora
Inspiration Award – Willard wrestler Michael Finley
Inspiration Award – Rogersville dance team’s Anya Smith
Inspiration Award – Ethan Maddox, Marshfield Girls Basketball team manager
Dance Team – Glendale Crimson Girls
Cheerleading – Glendale High School
Boys Tennis – Asa Borup, Joplin
Boys Golf – Dawson Meek, Glendale
Girls Track – Brianna Utecht, Marshfield
Girls Field – Kaesha George, Monett
Boys Track – Lance Ward, Carl Junction
Boys Field – Zach Westmoreland, Joplin
Girls Soccer – Aeryn Kennedy, Camdenton
Baseball – Garrett Rice, Willard
Girls Team of the Year – Springfield Catholic Girls Golf
Boys Team of the Year – Hartville Boys Basketball
Girls Athlete of the Year – Kaesha George, Monett
Boys Athlete of the Year – Terrell Kabala, Webb City