PIONEER, March 13,2014-The North Central Athletic Department held their annual Winter Sports Awards for the 2013-2014 season on March 13 in the school’s Gymnasium. High School Principal, Tim Rettig kicked off the evening’s awards with a motivational talk to the parents and students, outlining the Athletic Department goals and praising this years athletes for their effort and dedication. One statistic pointed out during the opening introduction to this years awards ceremony related to student academic achievement; 40 of the 55 student participating in Winter Athletics maintained a 2.9 or better GPA throughout the season, with 12 students named to this Winter’s BBC Scholar Athlete recognition.
Students named to this years BBC Winter Scholar Athlete list includes: Cheerleading-Jessica Echler, Nicole Myers, and Zoe Koch. From the Girls Basketball Squad-Jaclyn Kinsman, Abbey Litzenberg, Hannah Siekemeyer, Emerald Newton and Sabrina Pickford. From the Boys Basketball Team-Dylan Hutchinson, Branden Turner, Jordan Bailey and Brady Zuver. Kinsman and Siekemeyer were also recognized by District 7 as Scholar Athletes along with Turner and Hutchison from the Boys Team.
In Varsity Cheerleading, this year’s Eagle Leadership Award was presented to Alaina Kemarly, while the Most Improved Cheerleader Award went to Veronica Finch. The Dedication Award went to Nicole Myers; Katie Masters took home the Sportsmanship Award, and Zoe Koch rounded out the list of awardees with the 2014 Spirit Award.
In Girls Basketball, Abbey Litzenberg was awarded both the Top Rebounder Award along with the Best Free Throw Percentage Award. This years Most Improved Player was awarded to Alyssa Swank, while the season’s Hustle Award was presented to Sabrina Pickford. Rounding out the special awards for Girls Basketball, Hannah Siekemeyer was given the Eagle Award for her valuable contribution and leadership throughout the season. Recognized by the BBC, Sabrina Pickford was named 2nd Team All BBC, while Hannah Siekemeyer received BBC Honorable Mention. The Girls Basketball Team also received their final words of encouragement from Head Coach Steve Bowling, who will be stepping down as Head Coach after five years of service to the Lady Eagles.
Rounding out the evening’s awards, the Boys Basketball Team received their final departing words of thanks and encouragement from Head Coach Justin Houk for the season, commending the team for a very tough finish to the season by winning 5 of their last eight on the year, while making a very good showing in the BBC Tournament to close out the season. Recognized for their Defensive Hustle this year, teammates Josh Sawyer and Branden Turner split the Defensive/Husle Award, while Senior Chase Legacy was named this year’s Most Improved Award, along with being recognized with the 2014 Rebounding Award. This year’s Eagle Eye Sharp Shooter Award was presented to Dylan Hutchison, while the 2014 Eagle Award went to Clayton Hutchison.
The North Central Athletic Department will host Media Day for their Spring Athletes on Wednesday, March 19, kicking off the Spring Sports Season.