For the Tribune
Jadelyn Dean received the mental attitude award in volleyball and was named the most valuable runner on the girls cross-country team during Medora’s fall sports awards program conducted Wednesday night at the school.
“It takes a lot to be the only female runner,” cross-country coach Brad McCammon said. “She showed a lot or determination. She was definitely level-headed.”
Volleyball coach Sara Todd said Dean was very deserving of the mental attitude award.
“In the middle of the season I had to put her down to JV,” she said. “I didn’t want to, but I needed a hitter. Katie (Stewart) was a little stronger hitter, a more consistent hitter than she was. I knew Jadelyn would be an asset on JV, and I told her ‘If you would have played like that on varsity you never would have went down there.’
“With an attitude like hers,
we’re going to be a lot more successful.”
Avery Carney received the serving and setting awards.
“I tell those girls that we’re going to be best friends in that little court area, and they are,” Todd said. “They put everything aside for that, and it seems like we’ve become more of a family than a team.
Maddie Plummer earned the hitting award, and Alli Carney received the passing/serve percentage award.
“I think, being a small school, we have to have each others back and work together and just be a family as opposed to a team. We do have to go out there and battle because we do play schools four, five, six times our size,” Todd said.
The coach said some of the girls had to adapt to different positions.
“You have somebody start out as a setter, and they go to hitter, and then they go to passer. You just kind of have to wear all these hats. All of them are (versatile). We play easy games and we play hard games, but those hard ones are a lot sweeter in the end,”
Todd said.
Plummer was 426 for 498 in attacks with 111 kills. Alli was 338 for 420 in passes.
“Serving is a big deal,” Todd said. Avery was 375 for 404 with 88 aces, and she was 940 for 947 in sets.
Seniors on the team were Maddie Plummer, Jerica Raby and Kiana Thompson.
“They have become part of the family,” Todd said of the varsity girls. “It’s hard to lose those girls. It’s a big void
to fill.”
Destiny Barr received the JV hitting and serving awards, Dean received the passing award, Kaitlyn Wilson
received the setting award and Emily Newby received the mental attitude award.
Matt Jones was named
the most valuable male
cross-country runner, Zac Thompson received the mental attitude award and Jeremy
Farmer was named the
most improved.
“Thompson battled through so many injuries,” McCammon said. “He had a lot of knee injuries, and he just continued to stick with it and run through it, and that is one of the main reasons I gave him the award. In cross-country, if your knees are bothering you, you know you’re having a lot of issues.”
McCammon, who is the athletics director, presented scholar athlete awards to fall sport athletes who carried a 3.5 or higher GPA.
That list was made up of Newby, Little Hatfield, Wilson, Emily Wright, Barr, Stewart, Alli Carney, Avery Carney, Thompson, Plummer, Dean and Jones.
The elementary and middle school volleyball, and middle school cross-country teams were also honored.
Middle school, elementary awards:
Volleyball
Junior high: Outstanding server, Kailen Flynn; passing, Jolee Dean; setting, Dean; hitting, Grace Cobb; most improved, Taylor Baughman.
Elementary: Serving, Kaitlyn Cobb; serve receive, Abigail Wayman; mental attitude, Keyla Newby.
Cross-country
Boys: Most improved, Jonathan Cobb; most valuable, Jared Starr.
Girls: Most improved, Kaitlyn Cobb; most valuable,
Jolee Dean.