Advertisement

NTSPY AWARDS: Winners galore at annual event

josh cook, the evening news and the tribune, jeffersonville, ind.
·7 min read

Jun. 22—JEFFERSONVILLE — One individual state champion, a championship team and several future NCAA Division I athletes took home hardware at Tuesday night's NTSPY Awards.

The ninth annual News and Tribune Sports Performance Yearly (NTSPY) Awards — a school-year-ending celebration of area high school athletics — were held in-person, at Eastside Christian Church, for the first time since 2019.

Floyd Central took home the most plaques. The Highlanders won eight of the 19 individual Player of the Year awards and five of the 14 special awards.

Standout wrestler J Conway led the way for Floyd Central. Conway was the winner of three awards — Wrestler of the Year, Boys' Overall Player of the Year and Clutch Performance of the Year. Conway won his second straight state championship — and his 68th consecutive match — in February in dramatic fashion (hence the Clutch Performance award). Tied 2-all with Columbus East's Kade Law heading into overtime of the 160-pound weight class final, Conway used a single-leg takedown to quickly score two points and get the blue ribbon medal once again. Conway was unable to attend Tuesday night's program because he is already at the University of Missouri preparing for his freshman season.

The Highlanders' other individual winners were Paige Giovenco (Girls' Golfer of the Year), Landon Hodges and Colin Jacobi (Boys' Tennis Players of the Year), Dakota Bramer (Girls' Soccer Player of the Year), Weston Naville (Boys' Cross Country Runner of the Year), Kaitlyn Stewart (Girls' Cross Country Runner of the Year), Morgan Schoen (Girls' Swimmer or Diver of the Year) and Millie Meunier and Libby Banet (Girls' Tennis Players of the Year).

In addition to Conway's two, Floyd's three other special award winners were Jaydon Cirincione (Girls' Overall Player of the Year), Savanna Liddle (Girls' Multi-Sport Athlete of the Year) and Luke Collins (Inspiration Award).

After losing his sophomore track season to COVID-19 and much of his junior season to injuries, Collins unexpectedly lost his father — his biggest fan — in the fall of 2021. Collins carried on in his memory and won the indoor state title in the 60-meter dash in the winter. Then in the spring, he set the school-record in the 100 and helped his 400 relay team set one as well. At the state finals, he finished 13th in the 100 and aided the 400 relay team to 10th-place.

"I was able to persevere through some challenges that I had in sports, and out of sports, and I was able to come back and finish off what I started in a good way," said Collins, who will continue his academic and track careers at Southeast Missouri State University.

New Albany had the second-most individual awards, taking home five. The Bulldogs' winners included Derell Simmons (Football Player of the Year), Colin Kruer (Boys' Swimmer or Diver of the Year), Tucker Biven (Baseball Player of the Year), Cheyenne Palmer (Softball Player of the Year) and Ja'raylan Johnson (Boys' Track & Field Athlete of the Year). Biven, who also scored more than 1,000 points on the basketball court, was named the Boys' Multi-Sport Athlete of the Year too. The University of Louisville-signee, who attended the Major League Baseball Draft Combine last week in San Diego, was unable to attend Tuesday night because he was going through orientation at UofL.

Another big winner on the evening was Providence. The Pioneers had two individual Athlete of the Year winners — Billy Hoke (Boys' Soccer Player of the Year) and Grace Purichia (Volleyball Player of the Year).

In addition to that, Providence also took home four of the special awards. Ben Hornung, who retired at the end of the school year after 36 years of teaching at PHS, received the Above & Beyond Award. During that time, he was the head baseball coach for 11 seasons, an assistant baseball coach for 14 seasons and an assistant football coach for six seasons. In more recent years, Hornung kept statistics for the football team, helped set up for home basketball games and showed up to support all the Pioneer athletic teams.

"It was a wonderful time, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world," he said of his years at the Clarksville parochial school. "I'm just looking forward to the next phase of my life and I'll always hold Providence very dear in my heart."

The Pioneers' three other awards were related to their state-championship-winning boys' basketball team.

One of those was for Game of the Year. Trailing ninth-ranked Eastern Hancock 30-25 entering the fourth quarter of the Class 2A semistate game at Seymour, Providence held the Royals without a field goal — while outscoring them 16-3 — in the final frame to pull out a 41-33 win. Max Beatty's 3-pointer with 35 seconds left was the clincher for Providence.

"It was crazy, I think it was the craziest game of the year," senior point guard Cade Carver said. "I think it was the one we prepared the most for, besides the state (game)."

"It was definitely the most nerve-wracking," senior guard Tyler Simmons added.

"The most exciting, though too, whenever Max hit that shot," junior wing Casey Kaelin added.

Pioneers bench boss Ryan Miller was named the Coach of the Year while Providence, which defeated third-ranked Central Noble 62-49 in the state championship game, was chosen as the Team of the Year.

"I couldn't ask for a better group of guys that are coaching with us at Providence High School," Miller said. "Then, of course, our boys, they're so committed to each other and the team. I guess when you've got those things going on you have a chance to do something special. This year everything just worked out for us and we couldn't be more thankful and grateful because we know how hard every team works.

"Truly, we love these guys, we love each other and great things can occur when you've got that going on."

Meanwhile New Washington's Emma DeCamp was named the Girls' Student-Athlete of the Year and Henryville's Jack Spicer was selected the Boys' Student-Athlete of the Year.

DeCamp took care of business in the classroom (she had a 4.5 grade-point average) and on the basketball court for the Mustangs, who recorded their most wins since the 2012-13 season.

"It's a huge honor. I'm really glad to be acknowledged like this, I'm really appreciative of it," said DeCamp, who earned four varsity letters in basketball and was named Academic All-State after this past season.

DeCamp received an academic scholarship to IU Southeast and plans to study elementary education there with the hopes of being a kindergarten teacher one day.

Spicer was a standout in the classroom and the pool for the Hornets. Academically, he was near the top of his senior class. In the water, he was the runner-up in the 100-yard backstroke at the sectional.

"I've put in a lot of work, and made a lot of sacrifices, these past couple of years," said Spicer, who'll continue his academic and swimming careers at Bethel University, where he plans to major in pre-med. "I have a lot of people to thank for getting me this far. It really means a lot to get this."

Finally, former long-time Clarksville baseball coach Wayne Stock received the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 39 seasons as the Generals' bench boss, Stock guided them to 744 victories, 20 Mid-Southern Conference championships, 12 sectional titles and five regional crowns. Stock, whose name adorns Clarksville's home field, was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.

"That means, basically, that I'm extremely old and I outlasted everybody else," Stock said with a laugh after receiving the award. "It's exciting, especially to hear some of the ex-players and coaches talk about you."