Finalist announcements start for Semoball Awards

We hope you read Sunday's announcements in the Southeast Missourian and online at semoball.com/awards about the first group of finalists for the Semoball Awards, a first-class sports banquet to be held in June at the Show Me Center.

Leading off was the football offense category. The 10 finalists include Mikey Jones, Cape Girardeau Central; Quentin Michel, Poplar Bluff; Darrell Monroe, Caruthersville; Peyton Montgomery, Chaffee; Bi Nguyen, Poplar Bluff; Colton Proffer, Jackson; Dremond Robinson, Malden; Landon Stricklin, Caruthersville; Dante Vandeven, Jackson; and Al Young, Cape Girardeau Central.

Finalists for football defense will be announced in Thursday's Southeast Missourian, the daily newspapers in Kennett, Poplar Bluff, Sikeston and Dexter and online at semoball.com/awards. Tune in to the Sports Huddle on SEMO ESPN (92.9 FM/1220 and 1470 AM) at 9 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays for commentary about the athletes.

Finalists for other fall sports will be announced on the following days:

* Sunday: Boys swimming and diving

* Jan. 30: Boys soccer

* Feb. 2: Girls tennis

* Feb. 6: Volleyball

* Feb. 9: Girls cross country

* Feb. 13: Boys cross country

For the athletes, parents, schools, sponsors and fans involved in high school sports, these announcements are exciting. Who are the best of the best in high school sports? It's a tough question, and the panel of sports writers from Southeast Missouri's five daily newspapers and broadcasters from SEMO ESPN welcome your nominations.

Athletes may be nominated for any of the 19 sport categories and several top awards that will be presented at a June banquet.

Top awards include: the following: male and female athlete of the year, comeback athlete of the year and coach of the year and the sportsmanship award.

Each of the 58 schools will be asked to submit the name of its top academic athlete.

In addition to nominations, fans are engaging in this process through an online best fans of Southeast Missourian contest. Vote for your favorite school at semoball.com/awards.

We are honored to recognize these athletes for their hard work, and hope you enjoy reading about them along the way.

Watch for a major announcement coming soon regarding the keynote speaker for the June banquet.

Thanks to our presenting sponsor SoutheastHEALTH and other top sponsors First Midwest Bank, Harry Blackwell auto dealerships and Technomad.

If you or your business is interested in participating in the event, contact Lucas Presson at 388-3649 or lpresson@semissourian.com.