Sydney Jaynes, Tyler Goecker, Jack Marksberry and Bailey Tabeling received special basketballs when Trinity Lutheran held its winter sports awards program Sunday night.
Jaynes and Goecker received basketballs for setting school records for career points, while Marksberry and Tabeling received them for topping the 1,000-point mark this season.
They were the key players in helping their teams win Class A sectional titles this past winter.
Jaynes, who was selected to the Indiana All-Star team that will face the Kentucky All-Stars this summer, finished with 1,598 points and holds the school record for rebounds with 871 and blocked shots with 357.
Bound for Butler University on a basketball scholarship, Jayne earned Indiana Basketball Coaches Association small-school all-state, was selected Hoosier Basketball Coaches Association all-district and will play with the East team in the HBCA all-star game.
She also was The Tribune’s co-Girls Basketball Player of the Year, named to The Republic’s all-decade team, named to the Indiana Preps Girls Hoops first team all-state, was a McDonald’s All-American Game nominee and was invited to the top 60 senior workout.
“She will leave some big shoes to fill,” Cougars coach Mike Lang said.
Lang named Jaynes and Tabeling as co-most valuable players. They provided the team with a strong 1-2 inside-outside scoring punch this season. Tabeling scored 491 points for an average of 19.6, and Jaynes netted 476 points for a 19.0 average and had 14 double-doubles.
Tabeling was named to the IGBRR all-sophomore team, IBCA small school all-state team and Indiana Preps Girls Hoops first team all-state for Class A, was a top 100 workout recipient, was MVP of the Shamrock Classic AAU tournament and was selected to play in the Indiana Class Basketball Futures all-star game at Anderson University.
She also was named to The Tribune’s all-county team, recorded high point games of 36 against Jeffersonville, 31 against Indian Creek and 30 against Greenwood Christian and scored in the 20s 11 times. Plus, she set a school record with 122 assists this season.
Genesis Munoz, the other senior on the team, received a Cougar Award, and both Jaynes and Munoz received Senior Awards.
“She was our glue on and off the court,” Lang said of Munoz. “She worked hard and played some valuable minutes as a senior.”
Lang said in the four years Jaynes and Munoz were on the team, they compiled a record of 83-25 and won three sectional titles.
Freshman Liza Froedge received the most improved award. She averaged 7.7 points, scored 20 points against West Washington and Crothersville and tied the school record with six 3s in a game.
The Cougars were 20-5 this season.
“The hardest part in losing to Loogootee (in the Springs Valley Regional) was the fact that we didn’t get to go to practice on Monday,” Lang said. “We didn’t have any drama on this team.”
He said key wins came over Bishop Chatard, Greenwood Christian, North Harrison, Lanesville and Jeffersonville.
The team was recognized by the HBCA as an Honors Court team for having a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher.
For the Trinity boys, coach Ryan Crase praised Goecker as he presented him the MVP award.
Goecker is No. 1 on Trinity’s career points list with 1,274 points. He scored 428 points this season for an average of 17.1 with highs of 31 against Scottsburg and West Washington.
“Tyler is one of a kind,” Crase said. “He was an incredible leader. He made clutch baskets every single game.”
Marksberry received the Cougar Award, Sage Broughton was named most improved and Marksberry, Goecker and Lawson Woods received Senior Awards.
Marksberry missed the first eight games of the season because of a shoulder injury, and he reached the 1,000-point mark in the regional against Barr-Reeve. He finished with 1,003 points.
“Jack had an incredible season,” Crase said. “By the end of the season, Sage was our sixth man. He helped our defense against Edinburgh and West Washington in the sectional.”
Crase said the season was filled with highs and lows.
“We started out 1-9, and we got it figured out and finished 12-14,” he said. “We won our first sectional in seven years. That is the first time I’ve ever had a firetruck escort.”
The cheerleaders and a swimmer were honored Sunday night, too.
Swimmer Ethan Myers received a Senior Award and was named most valuable swimmer.
Coach Doug Sabotin said he set the school record in the 500-yard freestyle. He swam a 6:12 late in the season at Seymour and cut 10 seconds off of that time in the sectional.
Bailey Cain and Regan Cain were named co-most valuable cheerleaders, Kate Mau was named most improved and Ally Russell received the Cougar Award.
Abby Hildreth, Bailey Cain, Alyssa Huber and Gabby Murphy received Senior Awards.
“It was a difficult year,” cheerleading coach Brooke Carlin said of how the coronavirus affected participation. “It was hard to keep the girls motivated. At one time, we were the only school in Jackson County to have cheerleaders.”