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Baseball / Basketball / Football / Other / Sports / Volleyball
Picayune’s picks, 2009-10: Athletes of the year
Friday, May 28, 2010 |
Football
Senior quarterback Tanner Price fully embraced a new offensive approach that leaned on his feet almost as much as his left arm while setting a new single-season school record with 3,742 yards of offense. More importantly, the Wake Forest recruit led the Chaps to a fourth state title game in the past decade.
Volleyball</strong
Senior Sara Shaw completed one of the most decorated careers in Westlake history with a set of jaw-dropping numbers that became commonplace in the University of Southern California recruit’s four-year career: 453 kills in 87 games, 291 digs, 59 aces and one more appearance in the state championship match.
Boys cross country
Senior Matt Ballou not only led Westlake to a fourth consecutive District 25-5A title with a fourth-place finish, but he paced all Chaps at the Region IV meet with a 56th-place time.
Girls cross country
Sophomore Ashley Maton finished third at the District 25-5A meet and clocked an impressive time of 12 minutes, 9 seconds while finishing 19th at the Region IV race.
Boys tennis
Senior Russell Bader , a Penn State recruit, capped his four-year Westlake career by capturing the first Class 5A boys singles title in school history.
Girls tennis
Freshman Meredith Hopson established herself as the team’s No. 1 singles player in the fall, and she reached the Region IV semifinals in the spring.
Boys basketball
Senior Cody Doolin, a 6-2 point guard committed to the University of San Francisco, earned his second consecutive District 25-5A MVP after scoring 19.7 points and doling out 8.7 assist for the district champion Chaps.
Girls basketball
Senior Courtney Duever, a 6-1 post committed to Central Arkansas, led Westlake in scoring with 14 points a game and anchored the defense (8.0 rebounds, 3.6 steals and 2.0 blocks per game) while helping the Chaps reach the second round of the playoffs.
Boys swimming
Sophomore Reed Snyder set a new school record while finishing fourth in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:29.18 at the state meet. He also helped the 400 freestyle relay team set a new school record with a fourth-place time of 3:05.92.
Girls swimming
Senior Samantha Tucker prepped for a college career at the University of Texas by winning a fourth consecutive gold medal in the 100 freestyle with a time of 49.83 seconds. She also anchored Westlake’s championship 400 freestyle relay team.
Wrestling
Wrestling can be a cruel sport, with injuries often robbing opportunities. Senior Sawyer Morris has dealth with such setbacks in his four-year varsity career and has often entered the state tournament as a wounded warrior. But the kid they call “Sawbone” capped his final season in style by winning a bronze medal in the 160-pound division. He’ll next compete for Indiana University, where the passion for grappling matches this state’s obession with all things football.
Boys soccer
Westlake has seen plenty of gifted strikers in its illustrious history, but no found the back of the net with the propensity – or the pizzazz – of Dillon Short. The senior forward set a new single-season school record with 26 goals while helping the Chaps reach the state tournament for the first time since 1983. A gifted finisher with either foot, Short proved particularly effective late in the season; at one point, he scored in 12 consecutive matches to lead Westlake to the District 25-5A title and its lengthy playoff run.
Girls soccer
Junior Reilly Wheat emerged as Region IV finalist Westlake’s top playmaker, scoring 21 goals and dishing out 12 assists for a team-best 54 points.
Boys track and field</strong
Junior Van Gramann returned to the Region IV meet for a second consecutive year after finishing third at the District 25-5A meet in the 400. The stiff regional competition didn’t phase the sprinter; he lowered his time by almost a full second to 49.87 while placing fourth at regionals.
Girls track and field
Sophomore Ashley Maton qualified for two Region IV events by finishing second in the 800 in 2:22.47 and third in the 1,600 in 5:30.09 at the District 25-5A meet.
Baseball
Sophomore Lewis Guilbeau hit .466 and hammered out 39 RBIs during the regular season, which set a high mark for runs driven in over the past decade by any Chap.
Softball
Senior Hannah Slovacek, rebounding nicely from an off-season surgery, remained the Chaps’ workhorse in the circle as well as a consistent threat in the heart of the order for the playoff-qualifying Chaps.
Boys golf
Senior Paul Otte followed up a team low at the Region IV tournament with a team-low at the Class 5A state tournament while helping Westlake win back-to-back state titles.
Girls golf
Think the competition at the Class 5A state golf tournament was tough? Try teeing off during a practice round for the state-champ Chaps. Singling out a best player is like selecting your favorite course at Barton Creek Country Club. But no Chap duffer stepped forward more than junior Taylor Moreno, who emerged by the slightest of strokes as the most consistent player. She captured top individual honors at the Region IV tournament and tied for a team-best score with a ninth-place 113 as the Chaps won a first-ever Class 5A titles over a rain-shortened 27 holes.
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