SportsApril 9, 2016
Familiar faces headline announcement of Semoball Award winter sport finalists
Saxony Lutheran's Brianna Mueller is no stranger to the Semoball Awards. She is the reigning Girls Basketball Player of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year. On Saturday it was officially announced that she'll get a chance to repeat at least one of those titles, as she is among 10 nominees for the 2016 Semoball Awards' Girls Basketball Player of the Year...
Saxony Lutheran's Brianna Mueller is no stranger to the Semoball Awards. She is the reigning Girls Basketball Player of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year. On Saturday it was officially announced that she'll get a chance to repeat at least one of those titles, as she is among 10 nominees for the 2016 Semoball Awards' Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
"It's incredible. I think it's so cool that for such a small area, high school athletes get recognized for the things that they've accomplished and for their talents and abilities," Mueller said. "A lot of other areas don't do that.
"For me, last year, it was just awesome and I was not expecting any of that. To hear my name get called and for everybody to be applauding, I got chills up and down my spine. It's something I'll never forget."
Mueller headlines a contingent of regional student-athletes who shined during the recently-completed winter season and were announced as finalists for the Third Annual Semoball Awards.
Final nominees from four sports -- boys basketball, girls basketball, wrestling and girls swimming -- were revealed live on air on SEMO ESPN Radio on Saturday morning during the second of three selection shows for the event.
All finalists will attend the Semoball Awards on July 9 at the Bedell Performance Hall on Southeast Missouri State's River Campus, where winners from each category will be unveiled.
Mueller was in studio for the announcement, along with teammate Raegan Wieser. The two standouts helped the Crusaders to a state runner-up finish in Class 3, with Mueller averaging 16.3 points, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 49 percent from the field, 43 percent from long range and 81 percent from the free-throw line.
Nine other girls join Mueller on the list of finalists: Dexter's Krysten Garrison, Greenville's Makenzy Smith, Kennett's Heidi Shetley, Naylor's Calle Pickrell, Neelyville's Shelby Moon, Oran's Leah Cauble, Scott County Central's Johneisha Daniel, Sikeston's Tyeshia Mitchell and Twin Rivers' Jaysea Morgan.
Pickrell and Moon also helped their squads to the state final four in Class 1 and Class 2, respectively.
It's a familiar list of names, with the likes of Mueller, Daniel, Mitchell, Moon and Shetley all back after being nominated for the award a year ago.
Garrison (volleyball) and Shetley (girls tennis) were announced as fall finalists for 2016 as well.
Smith led Southeast Missouri in scoring with 28 points per game to go with 7.2 rebounds. Cauble, the lone freshman on the list, was second with 25.5 ppg.
Daniel, a sophomore, averaged a double-double (19.4 ppg, 12.7 rpg) with 52 percent shooting.
Moon, a senior, not only led her side to a Class 1 runner-up finish, but also averaged 16.9 points on 62-percent shooting. Pickrell made a similar impact for the Class 2 runner-up, as the sophomore posted 17.6 points and 9.8 rebounds while shooting 52 percent from the floor.
On the boys side, Gideon head coach Keenan Buchanan and his senior post Kason Lawrence took part in the on-air selection show after writing one of the best stories of the season -- the Class 1 Bulldogs made their first ever appearance in the final four, finishing in third place and separated from a shot at a title by only a semifinal overtime.
The team did that in a year when Buchanan, at least momentarily, had to wonder his future on the sidelines after a health scare -- which he calls a "spell" -- during a December game.
Doctors cleared him to return, and the rest is history.
"It kind of pulled us together. I was really drawn with emotion the night that it happened. My whole team was up there [at the hospital] the night that it happened. They took me out in the third quarter and rushed me to the hospital. By the time I got up there and did some tests, the whole team was up there and a lot of the community was up there and it was very overwhelming to me, to be honest with you, to see all the support. The team really pulled together for me and I couldn't appreciate it more."
Lawrence was a critical piece in a remarkable season, as the 6-foot-5 senior center averaged 20.1 points and eight rebounds per game, shooting 55 percent from the field. That campaign helped him secure a spot among a talented and deep list of finalists for Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
"When Mr. B [Buchanan] called me into my office and told me I had an opportunity to get nominated for the Semoball Awards, it was just overwhelming," Lawrence said. "I was very excited but I was very honored. I definitely did not expect anything like that. To be able to represent my school and my team, that means a lot to me. I take that with a lot of pride, but I take it with a lot of responsibility as well.
"As time passes, I realize how fortunate we were and how lucky we were [this year]. How many things had to go right for us to have that opportunity. ... While it was going on and even right after we played at state, it didn't really feel real -- you couldn't wrap your head around it because it was a dream you've had since elementary [school]. And it actually came true. It's an experience that's indescribable."
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While the girls' list of nominees is chock full of repeat finalists, eight of last year's 10 boys finalists are not repeat hopefuls. The only two who have garnered a second consecutive nod are Scott County Central's Jeffery Porter (23.4 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 4.1 assists per game, 3 steals per game), a senior, and Sikeston's Fred Thatch (20 ppg, 10 rpg, 4 apg, 2.5 spg), a sophomore. Thatch was the Missouri Basketball Coaches' Association Class 4 Player of the Year.
Thatch is honored alongside teammate Dominique Dyes, a 3-point sharpshooter who capped off his high school career by helping the Bulldogs to the Class 4 final four.
The rest of the newcomers are Bloomfield's Noah Vandiver, Cape Central's Al Young, Caruthersville's Tyrone Alston, Poplar Bluff's Marcedus Leech and Willie Lucas and Senath-Hornersville's Kyle Moore.
Vandiver's excellent play helped a well-rounded Wildcats to the Class 2 final four, where they finished an overtime away from the title game. He put together 15.9 ppg and 7.2 rpg with 56-percent shooting.
Young is well versed in both postseason honors and the Semoball Awards. He was last year's Football Offense Player of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year. He also, unsurprisingly, secured a nomination in the fall for 2016 Football Offense Player of the Year.
The Cape Central standout went for 21.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.2 apg and 2.4 spg while garnering an All-State nod and the Gibbs Award as SEMO Conference POY -- an honor he received ahead of Thatch.
Moore led all players in the region with 30.7 ppg, along with 6.7 rpg and 7 apg, shooting 56 percent.
Wrestler of the Year will have a new face after last year's winner, Jackson's Jarrett Reisenbichler, graduated. Two of the five 2016 finalists were up for the honor last year as well -- Jackson's Carson McCord and Dexter's Ethan Stevens.
McCord wrapped up his high school wrestling career with a 47-8 record this winter, finishing fifth in Class 4 at 170 pounds and earning a SEMO Conference title. Stevens was 42-5 with a third-place finish in Class 2 as well as a fourth straight district title while wrestling at 182.
Joining that duo is McCord's teammate, Jake Byrd, who wrestled at 126 pounds and went 52-7 while finishing fourth in Class 4 and taking home a conference title.
Poplar Bluff's Steven Haley -- also a 2016 Semoball Award finalist for football defense -- finished fifth at 182 in Class 3 and Sikeston's Mitchell Garner wrestled his way to a 22-pound fourth-place finish in Class 3, going 50-8.
Last year's Girls Swimmer of the Year, Jackson's Caitlyn Palmer, is back for another shot at the award after finishing eighth in the 100-yard butterfly and 15th in the 50 freestyle -- an event she won a state title in a year ago -- at the 2015-16 state swimming championships.
Palmer is joined by Cape Central representative Josey Powell, a fellow senior who was a Show Me Conference champion in the 500 free and competed in the event, along with the 200 individual medley, at state.
The rest of the five-woman field is rounded out by a trio of younger Mules from Poplar Bluff.
Sophomore Taylor Norwood leads that group after being named the Show Me Conference meet MVP and becoming the first swimmer in conference history to qualify for every individual event at the state meet, where she finished seventh in both the 200 IM and 100 butterfly.
Bluff junior Morgan McAtee earned a Semoball Award finalist spot in 2015 and put together another strong performance this season as a conference champion in the 100 breaststroke for a third straight year.
In fact, all four of the aforementioned nominees made the cut a year ago. The lone newcomer is Poplar Bluff freshman Raegan McAtee, who leapt onto the scene with conference titles in the 100 free and 100 backstroke, as well as two relay events.
The final selection show -- revealing the spring sport finalists and additional awards -- will take place June 11 and will be live on location at First Midwest Bank in Cape Girardeau. The event will be broadcast live by SEMO ESPN Radio.
Fans can nominate student-athletes for winter and spring awards by going to semoball.com/awards and clicking on the 'nominate' link.
Finalists from a pool of 57 high schools are selected by a panel of semoball.com sports editors and writers along with broadcasters from SEMO ESPN Radio. Selections are based on statistics, in-season observations and nominations.
Tickets for the Semoball Awards are on sale now and can be purchased at semoball.com/awards.
Awards finalists will receive an invitation in the mail to reserve a free ticket, and parents of finalists will also receive an invitation and information on how to purchase additional tickets.
The event's keynote speaker will be former NFL player and ESPN radio and television personality Mark Schlereth.
The Third Annual Semoball Awards are presented thanks to presenting sponsor SoutheastHEALTH, official bank sponsor First Midwest Bank, title sponsors Athlon Sports and the St. Louis Cardinals and radio partner SEMO ESPN Radio, along with the area's five newspapers.
Parties interested in sponsoring individual sports can contact Lucas Presson at 573-388-3649 or email at lpresson@rustmedia.com.
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