All-region sports banquet set for Monday

Year-end award nominees announced

The Yuma Sun/Yuma Rotary Club Annual Sports Banquet presented by the State Farm Agents of Yuma will be held next Monday at 5:30 p.m. at the Yuma Civic Center.

All-region student-athletes, coaches and athletic directors get in free, while admission costs $8 at the door for all others.

The banquet will conclude with the revealing of the Yuma Sun/Yuma Rotary Club Male Athlete, Female Athlete and Coach of the Year winners, as chosen from the following group of nominees:

MALE NOMINEES Thomas Cain, Cibola senior

Cain first emerged as one of the state’s top distance runners two years ago, and as a senior raised his performance to another level by setting personal-bests across the board in cross-country/track. At the AIA state track meet, he repeated as the Division I 3,200-meter champ and also placed third in the 1,600 meters. During his cross-country season, he posted the state’s fastest 5K time (15:07) in late September and was an eighth-place finisher at state in early November. Cain also played on Cibola’s basketball team in the winter.

Koby Fike, Gila Ridge senior

After earning Yuma Sun all-region recognition in the fall as an offensive lineman in football, Fike became a state wrestling champion in the winter by capturing Division II’s heavyweight title. He also competed in track and field in the spring, and ranked No. 5 locally in shot put.

J.R. Henderson, YC junior

Henderson won two Yuma Sun Player of the Year awards. As a wide receiver football, he caught 64 passes for 1,336 yards and 10 touchdowns. As a point guard in basketball, he was the area’s leading scorer (15.5 PPG) and also led the Shamrocks in assists (4.7) and steals (1.9) per game. He also competed in track and field in the spring, and was one of the area’s top long jumpers.