By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
For the recently completed high school spring-sport season, seven Mahomet-Seymour athletes – covering four sports – received All-Area first-team accolades on honor squads chosen by The News-Gazette.
One Bulldog coach also received recognition as the area’s top coach in her sport.
Additionally, eight Bulldogs were named first-team all-Apollo Conference in the sports where coaches make the selections.
Soccer
Mahomet-Seymour athletes swept the top awards on The News-Gazette’s 22nd All-Area girls’ soccer team.
Senior Maddy Wade was the selection as Area Player of the Year and first-year coach Kelsie Donley Briggs – the Player of the Year exactly 10 years earlier – was picked as Area Coach of the Year.
Wade accounted for 50 goals this spring, scoring 27 and assisting on 23.
Briggs guided her alma mater to a school-record 24-2 season and a berth in the Class 2A sectional semifinals.
Wade was among three Bulldogs chosen for first-team honors.
Sophomore defender Nyah Biegler and senior defender Maddie Louis were also recognized.
Biegler contributed seven goals and 12 assists. Louis was a repeat first-teamer and was the catalyst on a defense that recorded a school-record 17 shutouts.
Two other Bulldogs were members of the All-Area second team: freshman forward Cayla Koerner and senior midfielder Haley Lester.
Three other squad members were on the honorable mention team: freshman forward Brea Benson, junior midfielder Brooke Benson and senior midfielder Mackenzie Moore.
A former M-S athlete – senior Amanda Franklin – was an All-Area second-team pick. The Mahomet resident returned to Arthur Okaw Christian for her final season and notched 15 goals.
Seven M-S athletes received recognition from the Apollo Conference in soccer.
Four of 11 first-team choices were Bulldogs: Biegler, Lester, Louis and Wade.
Three of 11 second-team picks were from M-S: Brea Benson, Brooke Benson and Koerner.
M-S was 10-0 in conference matches.
Boys’ track and field
Junior Hunter Hendershot, a two-event Class 2A state champion, headlined The News-Gazette All-Area first team by being chosen as Area Athlete of the Year.
Hendershot set school records while winning both the shot put (62 feet, 1 ¼ inches) and the discus (182-4).
In the 15 years the newspaper has produced an All-Area team in track and field, Hendershot was the first M-S Athlete of the Year.
One teammate joined him on the 14-member first team. Senior Mathias Powell lowered his own school record in the 3,200 meters (9 minutes, 3.51 seconds) and was a state champion in the eight-lap race.
Four Bulldogs were placed on the All-Area honorable mention unit: senior Colin Balbach (pole vaulter), senior Corey Cebulski (pole vaulter), senior Morrie Mendenhall (throws) and sophomore C.J. Shoaf (high jumper/hurdler).
Baseball
Senior Jordan Veldman was the lone Bulldog selected to the 12-player All-Area first team. The catcher/infielder batted .437 for a 17-10-2 team. Three M-S athletes received special mention acclaim: junior pitcher Kobe Essien, senior pitcher/infielder Kyle Kinney and senior catcher Jon Latham.
The school’s representative on the honorable mention list was senior pitcher/outfielder Dawson Finch.
Three of the 12 players picked by the Apollo as first-team all-conference choices were from M-S: Essien, Kinney and Veldman. Latham was one of the eight total athletes to receive all-Apollo Conference second-team laurels.
Essien was one of just two juniors on the first team.
In conference action, M-S was 5-6.
Softball
Sophomore pitcher/third baseman Aubrie Shore was a repeat selection to the 12-player All-Area first team. Shore slugged eight home runs and batted .490 while also picking up 10 pitching victories and registering 130 strikeouts.
M-S junior catcher Julia McNaught and senior third baseman Sam Tamburo were picked for the special mention unit.
Receiving honorable mention status was junior infielder Ashley Wheeler.
M-S tied Effingham for third place in the Apollo Conference, with a 7-5 league mark, but Shore was the only athlete to earn any all-conference honors.
She was one of 13 players named to the first team. The Apollo Conference’s second-team listing consisted of seven players.
For the season, the Bulldogs compiled a record of 19-11.
Girls’ track and field
Five Bulldogs received recognition on the All-Area honorable mention unit.
They were seniors Brisa McGrath (distance runner) and Keida Nichols (sprinter) along with junior Mara Pletcher (pole vaulter) and two freshmen, Cece Abramson (pole vaulter) and Elizabeth Sims (distance runner).
