High school athletes honored
Jones, Nuneviller earn top awards at gala event
To so many high school athletes and coaches in Arizona, sports have great meaning.
At the third annual azcentral Sports Awards, those special moments and great stories were shared and honored throughout Sunday night at ASU Gammage.
The night culminated with the Boys and Girls Athlete of the Year award presentations, which went to Tyson Jones of Goodyear Desert Edge and Brooke Nuneviller of Tempe Corona del Sol.
Jones finished the night with two awards: Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year and Boys Athlete of the
Year. His star-studded career included three consecutive shot put titles, along with a senior season in which he broke Dallas Long’s 60-year-old state shot put record in March, only to break his own record-setting performance a month later.
With measurements of an NFL lineman – 6-foot-5, 295 pounds – Jones’ track and field career will continue at Virginia Tech.
Nuneviller one-upped Jones in the awards category by winning three. She was named the Player of the Year in both Girls and Beach Volleyball. Her crowning achievement of the night was the Girls Player of the Year award.
The 5-foot-11 Oregon commit has played for the U.S. youth national team in 2016 and ‘17, along with being named the Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year the past two years.
One of the more heartwarming moments of the night was when Kendall Krick, a senior guard at Seton Catholic, received the Courage Award. Krick was diagnosed in second grade with dermatomyositis, which causes inflammation of the skin and underlying muscle tissues leading to discoloration and swelling. She needs weekly injections of methotrexate to have reliable strength.
“Thank you for this amazing honor,” Krick said. “I would especially like to thank my parents, my family, my coaches, my teammates and all my friends who have provided me with the support I’ve needed to overcome this.”
Desert Vista boys volleyball exemplified the team concept to be named Team of the Year. The team overcame the shocking death of its team manager, Alex DePriest, and captured the 6A boys volleyball title.
The night’s featured guest was former Diamondbacks star Luis Gonzalez. Best known for his game-winning hit in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series against the Yankees, he also is the father of three, and last year watched his son, Jacob, honored at this event.
The audience listened intently to what the five-time All-Star was saying in a Q&A with Republic sports columnist Greg Moore. Gonzalez talked about how much the sports landscape has changed since his high school days.
“There was no social media like there is today,” Gonzalez said. “These days colleges and coaches are able to see these kids through different types of media. These kids can sell themselves to universities and different things.”
Social media usage has been a big make-or-break for some college athletes in recent years. As many schools have a no-nonsense policy when it comes to a prospective athlete’s posts on the internet, offers have been retracted in some cases.
Gonzalez’s words to the young athletes on making sure their social media presence was clean was met with an around of applause. He urged the athletes to use their presence in an uplifting manner, rather than negativity.
Other notable award winners were Matthew Liberatore, Nico Mannion and Marissa Schuld.
Liberatore, of Glendale Mountain Ridge, was named the Baseball Player of the Year after a season which included him being named the Arizona Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year and being selected 16th overall by the Tampa Bay Rays.
Mannion, the Boys Basketball Player of the Year from Pinnacle, wasn’t able to attend the show due to his commitment to the Italian national team, with which he’s currently training.
Schuld, the reining two-time Arizona Gatorade Softball Player of the Year and Arizona commit from Pinnacle, was named Softball Player of the Year.
Premier Awards
Girls Athlete of the Year Brooke Nuneviller, Tempe Corona del Sol, Volleyball and Beach Volleyball, senior Boys Athlete of the Year Tyson Jones, Goodyear Desert Edge, Track & Field, senior Academic All-Star Alexa Spartz, Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor, Beach Volleyball, senior Courage Award Kendall Krick, Chandler Seton, Girls Basketball, senior Team of the Year Phoenix Desert Vista, Boys Volleyball I AM SPORT Award Andrew Bradjan, Gilbert Campo Verde
Fall sports award winners
Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year Samantha Schadler, Rio Rico, junior Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year Rylan Stubbs, Gilbert Campo Verde, junior Girls Golfer of the Year Ashley Menne, Phoenix Xavier Prep, sophomore Boys Golfer of the Year Gabriel Salvanera, Queen Creek, junior Badminton Player of the Year
Jillian Lagasca, Gilbert Perry, senior Girls Swimmer of the Year
Claire Grover, Anthem Boulder Creek, senior
Boys Swimmer of the Year
Matthew Leblanc, Scottsdale Chaparral, sophomore
Girls Volleyball Player of the Year Brooke Nuneviller, Tempe Corona del Sol, senior
Football Player of the Year
Brock Purdy, Gilbert Perry, senior
Winter sports award winners
Girls Soccer Player of the Year Kyla Ferry, Phoenix Xavier Prep, junior Boys Soccer Player of the Year Carter Clemmensen, Phoenix Brophy Prep, senior Ice Hockey Player of the Year Declan George, Peoria Centennial, senior Wrestler of the Year Roman Bravo-Young, Tucson Sunnyside, senior Girls Basketball Player of the Year Taylor Chavez, Surprise Valley Vista, senior Boys Basketball Player of the Year Nico Mannion, Phoenix Pinnacle, sophomore
Spring sports award winners
Girls Tennis Player of the Year Josie Frazier, Scottsdale Desert Mountain, junior Boys Tennis Player of the Year Daniel 'Tripp' Dillon, Scottsdale Chaparral, senior Beach Volleyball Player of the Year Brooke Nuneviller, Tempe Corona del Sol, senior Boys Volleyball Player of the Year Parker Broadway, Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor, senior Lacrosse Player of the Year JJ Rose, Phoenix Desert Vista, senior Softball Player of the Year Marissa Schuld, Phoenix Pinnacle senior Baseball Player of the Year Matthew Liberatore, Glendale Mountain Ridge, senior Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year Jai Gruenwald, Chandler, senior Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year Tyson Jones, Goodyear Desert Edge, senior
Unified Sports award winners
Athlete of the Year Darnell Moore, TucsonAmphitheater Partner of the Year Kyle Wellman, Buckeye Verrado Coach of the Year Deborah Taylor, Peoria Sunrise Mountain Team of the Year Chino Valley