KITCHEN, BRUENING FOLLOW FAMILY TRADITIONS, WIN CENTRAL AWARDS

Cape Central senior Tatum Kitchen grew up idolizing his dad's Lou W. Muegge Award as the school's top male athlete.

"I see it in my living room every night," said Kitchen, son of Central athletic director Terry Kitchen.

After winning the same honor at Tuesday's All-School Recognition Banquet, Tatum now has one to call his own.

A three-sport athlete his senior season in football, basketball and baseball, Kitchen won the same award his dad won in the 1969-70 school year.

"It really feels good to be in the company of all those other guys that won the award," Kitchen said, mentioning past winners Cory Crosnoe and Carl Gross along with his father. "I grew up thinking those guys were the greatest, so to be on the same list as them is something else."

Kitchen wasn't the only award winner Tuesday to follow in the footsteps of a family member. Female Scholar Athlete, Sarah Bruening, won the same award her brother, Arron, was awarded in 1994.

"My brother received it four years ago so I guess I was just trying to match him," said a smiling Bruening. "It's really been hard to keep my grade-point average up when I'm in sports all the time."

Despite participating in athletics year-round on the softball, basketball and soccer teams, Bruening still managed to record a sparkling 10.9388 GPA through high school. Bruening said with a grin her GPA was perfect this year until a B+ in Advanced Placement Chemistry.

The classes won't get any easier for Bruening as she's headed to the University of Missouri-Rolla to study Aerospace Engineering. She hopes to someday land a job with NASA.

Central's Male Scholar Athlete might end up putting aside his college education for a chance to play professional baseball despite his 10.2222 GPA. Ross Bennett, a two-sport standout in football and baseball, has his sights set on the professional baseball draft coming up in early June.

"I'm going to wait until after the professional draft and then decide where I'm going to go to school," said Bennett, who's received attention from numerous baseball scouts this season. "I've talked to a good number of teams and I'm hoping if everything goes alright then I might not be going to school."

If he does go to college, Bennett plans on majoring in Pre-Medicine and Pre-Dentistry.

Tobie Bittle, winner of the Darla Pannier Award for top female athlete, has a good idea what she'll be doing next fall. Bittle plans on attending Mizzou and continuing her outstanding track and cross country career.

An athlete that's received as much attention for her fantastic attitude as much as her athletic accomplishments, Bittle's coaches tend to light up when they talk about her.

"I know how hard they work with us and they're really special to me too," Bittle said of her coaches. "It makes me feel good to know they feel the same way about me."

Bittle, who holds the school record in the 800 meters, expects to run the 1600 meters in college.

Kitchen, on his way to Southeast Missouri State University on a football scholarship, summed up the evening for most of the athletes in attendance, saying: "Playing for Central, that's an award in itself."