Sports awards ceremony honors winter athletes
By JARED PUTNAM Union Sentinel Editor

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Members of the 2006-2007 Panthers varsity basketball cheerleading squad pose with their awards.

The 2006-2007 Panthers basketball players and basketball cheerleaders were honored Monday night during the annual winter sports awards ceremony.

Basketball Cheerleading Coach Connie Garrett took the podium first, thanking everyone who helped make the season a success. "During the season we [accomplished a lot,]" Coach Garrett said. "This year we had a community outreach project. We did that because our community is so giving to us, not just to the cheerleaders, but the entire athletic department and our schools. We wanted to give a little something back."

The coach said that choosing award recipients was the hardest part of her job because cheerleading is such a team effort. "I try to be very careful to pick ones that just stood head and shoulders above, and I would just like to say to the girls, you all deserve a plaque," Coach Garrett said.

Most Improved Award: Danielle Kane. "This young lady had never cheered before and she came in and worked really hard and by the end of the season you could not tell that she had never cheered before," Coach Garrett said.

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Panthers basketball award winners.

Most Spirited Award: Kourtney Rouk. "Being a cheerleader, you have to have spirit," the coach said. "I selected a young lady that went well beyond most spirited. She just has so much energy and she was willing to share that energy with her teammates."

Academic Award: Morgan Bentley. "Academics is as important as what we do on the court, and we really wanted to recognize that this year," Coach Garrett said. Morgan has a 99.4 average.

Purple Heart Award: Heather Gibson. "This young lady came here from South Carolina. But you could not tell that she had not been here, and this award is for that, and for being able to work with others."

Spirit Award: Crystal Mayfield. "This is a young lady that is able to develop cheers and dances on the sidelines," the coach said. "She's always thinking about building [on things.]"

Leadership Award: Brittany Grant. "This award goes to a young lady who worked really hard to make sure everything was going well in the squad," the coach said, "that all the girls were getting along and that anything that needed to get done was taken care of."

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Lady Panthers basketball award winners.

Most Valuable Cheerleader Award: Bridget Garrett. "I can't say enough about this person and I don't know what I will do without her next year," Coach Garrett said.

Lady Panthers Head Coach Mike West took his turn at the podium, presenting the Lady Panthers basketball team.

Scholastic Athlete Award: Sarah Fulghum. "She was third on our team in offensive rebounds, third in field goal percentage, first in free throw percentage, and first in assists to turnovers," Coach West said. "She was one of the hardest working players I had on the team and one of the most coachable players on the team."

Best Offensive Player Award, Most Outstanding Guard Award: Candace Williams. "She was second on the team in field goal percentage, second in free throw percentage, first in assists, first in three point shooting, and first in scoring," Coach West said. "Everybody knows that she scores, but not everybody realizes that she rebounds and she defends."

Most Improved Player Award: Kayla Gowder. "This young lady was our sixth man for most of the season," Coach West said. "She improved immensely over last year, and she improved immensely as the year went on."

Most Outstanding Hustle Award: Leslie Bittenbinder. "This young lady is the most versatile player we have on our team," the coach said. "She played all five positions. She does a lot of things to help win a ballgame. If you came to any of the games, she looked like a ping pong ball, all over the place."

Best Defensive Player Award: Kaley Sullivan. This young lady works extremely hard and is hard on herself," Coach West said. "She's third on our team in assists, she's second in steals. She constantly has to guard the best player on [the other] team. She is the defensive stopper on our team."

Most Outstanding Post: Lauren Dyer. "She is our sole survivor. It is a testament to her work ethic. She has done a great job for us," the coach said. "She is twotime all region, this is her third Most Outstanding Post Award, she's going to leave here with over 500 rebounds, almost 700 points, and 18 double-doubles. She's in the top 5 in every category we have."

Panthers Head Coach Tim Hunter took the podium next. "We had an outstanding season this year," Coach Hunter said. "We finished with an overall record of 22-4, which is the second winningest regular season in school history. We captured the championship at both the White County Tip Off Classic and the Battle of the States Tournament in Towns County.

"While we did not meet our ultimate goal, which was to cpature the region championship, our team consistently played hard and was a source of pride for our school."

Coach Hunter introduced the team, including the seven seniors. "We will miss these young men next year, not just for their abilities, but for their hard work and dedication to our program. These seniors and this team has been throug a lot to be here. I am the fourth coach in four years for these s e n i o r s . Many of our players have lost parents and have gone through many tragedies and hardships that would give anyone a reason to have a bad attitude or have a chip on their shoulder. But rather than make excuses or be negative, these young men choose to be the best that our school system and our community have to offer. I am very proud of these young men, not just for what they have done but because of who they are.

Offensive Award: Corey Garrett. "This year's winner really worked hard in the offseason to become a better player," Coach Hunter said. "All this time and effort has paid off as he led our team in scoring this year with just under 16 points per game."

Defensive Award: Austin Collins. "This year's winner emerged as a defensive stopper for us," the coach said. "He was asked to guard the other team's best player game after game and if he was on you, then you were going to have a bad night shooting. This young man may be the best defender that I have coached at any level."

Rebounding Award: Taylor Neely. "This year's winner led us in both rebounding and charges taken," Coach Hunter said. "These are also two of the most important stats to me as a coach as these help win games and ultimately championships. This young man has come a long way both as a player and as an individual."

Scholar-Athlete Award: Colton Payne and Matt Schmidt. "I am giving two scholar-athlete awards this year," the coach said. "The dedication and hard work that these two young men show on the floor is also evident in the classroom. Both of these young men have very high GPA's and the highest SAT scores on the team. We know they will both continue on to great things."

Most Valuable Player: Michael Ross. "This player would not only earn this honor for his team, but also managed to win it for our entire sub-region," Coach Hunter said. "He has worked extremely hard to improve all facets of his game and to truly become a complete player. While everyone knows about his talent, few realize just how hard this young man works and how dedicated he is to this sport."

Coaches Award: Caleb Kelley. "Coaching this young man has been a great honor. He worked extremely hard in the offseason and in practice to be a better player because he wanted nothing more than to be an important part of this team. What he became was the heart and soul of this team and he truly represents the best of our program."