LBJ's Fenner, Manor's Nwabuko and Bowie's Moreno earn top prep sports awards
LBJ football coach Jahmal Fenner, Manor senior Che Nwabuko and Bowie junior Olivia Moreno were the top winners at the High School Sports Awards ceremony Monday night at the Long Center.
Fenner was named Coach of the Year for Central Texas after leading the Jaguars to the Class 4A Division I UIL State Football Championship game in December, the first team from the Austin school district to reach the finals since 1973.
Nwabuko was named Male Athlete of the Year. He received the award for top track and field athlete of year and also was a key member of the Mustangs football team. He will compete in both sports beginning this fall at the University of Pittsburgh.
Moreno was named Female Athlete of the Year. Leaving the ceremony with three plaques, Moreno also was voted top female wrestler as well as the area's best softball player.
More: Kinaa Graham, Drew Gonzalez net 2022 All-Central Texas tennis honors
There were a few more award winners at the annual sports banquet sponsored by the American-Statesman. One highlight of the event was an appearance by former Dallas Cowboy defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford, who told stories about growing up playing football in Canada, playing at Boise State University and his nine years in the NFL.
"You have run, hit, jumped, shot, thrown, tossed, spiked, serviced, pinned and pitched your way in the record books and into the pages of your hometown," American-Statesman vice president of sales Andrea Vick told 280 high school student-athletes who attended the ceremony.
"Just by being here proves that you've put in the countless hours of hard work and made many sacrifices," Vick continued.
Westlake's football team took the Team of the Year award after winning a Class 6A state championship for the third consecutive season.
Among the individual winners on Monday was Cedar Park sophomore Isabel Conde De Frankenberg, who was voted top female athlete in cross-country and track and field. In just two years, she has earned a total of six state medals, four of them gold, in those sports.
More: The American-Statesman names the All-Central Texas boys soccer team. Who made the squad?
Lake Travis senior Kaeden Kent, who will compete at Texas A&M next season, was named top baseball player and Vandegrift junior Kevin Sanchez earned the honor in boys cross-country. Vandergrift senior Chloe Charles, who will play beach volleyball next year at Florida State, was named top volleyball player in Central Texas.
Earning top honors for boys and girls swimming were Georgetown's Jeremy Kelly and Cedar Park's Michaela Koltz. Glenn senior Bryce McLaren, who earned a UIL state gold medal this year, was named wrestler of the year.
Football's top award winners are players who are already preparing to play in college. Westlake senior quarterback Cade Klubnik, who is enrolled at Clemson, was named offensive player of the year. All-Central Texas linebacker Andon Thomas of Liberty Hill, who will play at the U.S. Military Academy, was honored on defense.
Basketball's top honors were given to Lockhart senior Jah Gulley and Cedar Park junior Gisella Maul. Gulley led Central Texas with a scoring average of 29.7 points a game. Maul, who has made a verbal commitment to Texas, has led the Timberwolves to consecutive Class 5A state championships and has been the MVP at the state tournament both seasons.
More: Anderson's Keaton Vo, Farah O'Keefe earn 2022 All-Central Texas golf honors
Golf's top honors were given to two players from Anderson High. Keaton Vo is the top male golfer after leading his team to the Class 5A state championship. Also, Anderson's Farah O'Keefe is the top female golfer after leading her team to the state championship.
Alex Bethke of Class 6A state champion Lake Travis earned boys soccer player of the year honors while Peyton Ferrell of Lake Travis earned the award for girls.
Drew Gonzalez was named male tennis player of the year after leading Wimberley to the Class 4A championship. He and doubles partner Tate Murphy won state honors. Westwood's Kinaa Graham was named top girls player after helping the Warriors win their second Class 6A championship in three years. She won the 6A individual championship and joined Sachchit Sivaram to win mixed doubles.
In one of the night's most special moments, Ruthie Rodriguez of the Weiss football team was honored with the annual Courage Award. In a sport dominated by boys, she became the first girl ever to play football at Weiss. Rodriguez said she plays "for the love of the game" and enjoyed the friendships she built with teammates.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Fenner, Nwabuko, Moreno earn American-Statesman top sports honors
