The time to announce the nominees for Allen County Area Athlete of the Month is here. But before we get into the names, let’s discuss the changes to the award for the new year.
This year, the Register will decide the three athletes nominated for both male and female. From there, it will be up to you to decide who the winners should be. Once the winners are decided, myself along with one of our owners will venture to the athlete’s high school to present a certification of accomplishment along with a gift from one of our advertisers. I’ll make sure that our athletes are taken care of nicely.
Now, for the nominations:
Trent Jones — Iola’s 145-pound wrestler has continued where he left off from his state appearance a season ago as a freshman. So far this season, Jones sits at 15-2 and is ranked sixth in his weight class in 4A. Most recently, Jones defeated the number-one wrestler in his class at the 3A level.
Joel Boyce — ACC’s winning streak may no longer be around, but Boyce is continuing to thrive on the hardwood for the Red Devils. Boyce is averaging 15.2 points per game on 52% shooting. Against league-leaders Cowley on Saturday, Boyce finished with 23 points on 10 of 17 from the field.
Cal Leonard — Leonard earned the award last month, and his efforts on the court for the Iola Mustangs in January have been worthy of another nomination. Leonard is averaging a team-highs in points (17.1), and steals (2.4).
Cheyenne Harris — Wrestling against boys the past few years, this season Harris has competed against girls due to the sanctioning of girls wrestling in Kansas this past year. She has been almost unstoppable with an 11-3 record.
Ariel Walker — The Lady Devils snapped a nine-game losing skid over the weekend. A big reason was because of Walker’s near double-double with 12 points and 8 rebounds. The sophomore guard is currently averaging 14.4 ppg.
Bailey Griffith — Griffith has been a key-cog for the Marmaton Valley Wildcats this season. A three-sport athlete who excels at all three of them, has even taken leaps and bounds as a basketball player this winter. As for her signature performance, last week she knocked down two 3-pointers while scoring 16 points and led MV to a 34-29 win over Pleasanton.
The poll is currently live and will remain open until midnight Sunday. We’ll announce the winners Monday in both our print and online editions.
