WICHITA, Kan.—
Exactly 6,241 votes were cast in this year’s Catchy Awards and all 28 winners have been selected. The Nominees were selected by the CatchItKansas.com staff but every single winner was selected by you, the fan.Here are this year’s Catchy Award Winners.
Fisher was one of the top yard-gainers in the state with 2,144 yards for the Crusaders. He finished the season with 31 touchdowns on the year. He led Buhler to the state playoffs, where it lost 21-14 to Topeka Hayden in the quarterfinals and Fisher ran the ball just a few times in the game. He will play football for Butler Community College in the fall.
Volleyball Player of the Year: Emily Hiebert, Newton
Hiebert led her team with 418 kills, 474 assists and 321 digs. Newton played its way to the state finals, where it lost to perennial power Bishop Miege. Hibert will sign with Wichita State to play volleyball.
Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year: David Thor, Bishop Carroll
Thor was absolutely dominant in 2011. He won the 5A state championship with a time of 16:03.3, an average of 5:10.1 per mile. With the win, he propelled the Carroll boys to the state title with 34 points, 30 points ahead of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year: Kaelyn Balch, Bishop Carroll
Balch couldn’t be touched in her 2011 season that culminated at the state championship. She ran the 4K race in 15:07.7, good for a 6:05.2 per mile average, which resulted in this picture. Balch won the race by 28 seconds to help ensure the team title.
Boys Soccer Player of the Year: Broc Cramer, Wichita Northwest
Broc Cramer was the leader of the Grizzlies who finished the season as the fifth-ranked boys soccer team in the nation. Cramer led his team to a wild win in the state championship game. He was first-team all-state and finished with 21 goals and 15 assists on an undefeated team.
Girls Golfer of the Year: MacKenzie Thayer, Garden City
Thayer won the class 6A state championship in a playoff. With the performance, she propelled her team to the second-place finish in the tournament. Thayer led her team to a 25-stroke win in its regional tournament on the Lady Buffaloes’ home course.
Best Girls Tennis Player/Team: Abby Koester & Chelsea Ebenkamp, Conway Springs
Koester and Ebenkamp cruised through the state tournament as it racked up a total game score of 49-15 in the tournament. Over the course of the season, the duo built a 34-3 record. It helped Conway Springs take second place at the 3-2-1A state tournament.
Boys Basketball Player of the Year: Conner Frankamp, Wichita North
Frankamp played extremely well not only during the season, but he went overseas with the U17 USA National Team and won a gold medal. He averaged 32.4 points per game for Wichita North and nearly broke his own single game city league scoring record when he dropped 47 points against Wichita South.
Girls Basketball Player of the Year: Jana Reichenberger, Bishop Carroll
Reichenberger averaged a double-double for the year for the Golden Eagles. She dropped 12.6 points per game and pulled down 11.3 rebounds per game. Reichenberger led her team to the sub-state championship where it fell to Andover. She scored 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the loss.
Wrestler of the Year: Luke Bean, Kapaun Mt. Carmel
At the state tournament, Bean dominated. When he took the mat, it seemed like he forced his opponents to simply give up. Bean faced four opponents in the state tournament and spent a total amount of time of 5:01 on the mat. He finished the season a perfect 43-0.
Bowler of the Year: Hollyann Johansen, Bishop Carroll
Johansen has built a name for herself over the past two years. She is the first bowler in Kansas state bowling history to win back-to-back state titles. She won the 2012 title with a 692 series.
Boys Swimmer of the Year: Jake Spitz, Wichita East
Wichita East has become the gold standard in city league swimming. Spitz was the leader of the Blue Aces swim team in 2011-12. He won the state championship in the 200 individual medley as well as the 100 butterfly. Spitz was part of the runner-up in the 200 medley relay as well as the fourth-place 400 freestyle relay.
Baseball Player of the Year: Seth Holman, Bishop Carroll
Holman threw complete games in not only the regional championship game against Andover Central, but again in the state championship game against Blue Valley Stilwell. He boasted a 6-2 record, 53 strikeouts and an astonishing 0.93 ERA on the season.
Softball Player of the Year: Sydnee Eck, Andale
Andale won its third-straight state championship in 2012 thanks in large part to the arm and bat of Eck. She was named the AVCTL Div. IV Most Valuable Player and placed on the all-state first-team. She went 17-0 with 203 strikeouts with a 0.41 ERA. She knocked 14 home runs, 38 RBI and had a 1.184 slugging percentage.
Boys Golfer of the Year: Sam Stevens, Kapaun Mt. Carmel
Stevens won the 5A state championship in dramatic fashion at the Alvamar Golf Course in Lawrence. He shot a 71, but had to step up in the tie break to take home the championship, and he did. Although he took second at the Winfield regional tournament, he came through when he needed to.
Boys Tennis Player/Team of the Year: Quinn Dippel, Smoky Valley
Dippel is a name that has become synonymous with excellence in the tennis world. He won his third straight individual championship in the spring to cap a perfect season. At the state tournament, with the state’s best, he lost just three sets en route to another title.
Boys Track Athlete of the Year: David Thor, Bishop Carroll
This is Thor’s second Catchy Award of the year. Thor took home three individual gold medals at the state meet and silver in a relay. In the 1600, he broke a 26-year-old record and finished with the state’s best times in the event and the 800.
Girls Track Athlete of the Year: Katherine Dillard, Bishop Carroll
Dillard took home the top prize in the 800 and 3200-meter relay. She kept on running all the way to second place in the 400 and third in the 1600-meter relay. This capped a splendid season for Dillard.
Girls Swimmer of the Year: Madison Hutchison, Bishop Carroll
Hutchison was the runner-up in both the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke in 5-1A. She took home seventh place in the 400 freestyle relay and sixth in the 200 medley relay.
Girls Soccer Player of the Year: Jessica Quezada, Wichita North
Quezada was named to the class 6A all-state first-team. She led the city league in both goals and assists with 26 and 14, respectively. She led her team to the state quarterfinals, where the Lady Redskins lost to powerhouse Maize 8-0.
Performance of the Year: Conner Frankamp scores 47 points in one game
At Charles Koch Arena, Frankamp went to work. Against the Wichita South Titans, he never got too hot, he just took the shots he wanted to take and came away with 47 points, five short of tying his own city league record. Frankamp will play for University of Kansas.
Class 6A Team of the Year: Wichita Heights Boys Basketball
Heights took home its fourth consecutive state championship in 2012 by defeating Blue Valley Northwest for the third straight time. The team finished the season 23-2 and four players on this team will play at the collegiate level.
Class 5A Team of the Year: Hays Boys Track and Field
Hays has come to be the hunted in 5A boys track. With its third-straight state championship, Hays has secured its place as the name of dominance in the sport. It won the 2012 title by a commanding 14 points.
Class 4A Team of the Year: Andale/Garden Plain Softball
This team lost just one game all year, and luckily it didn’t come in the state tournament. The Lady Indians finished the season 25-1 with nine shutouts. In the middle of the season, the squad didn’t allow a single run for 35 straight innings. To cap everything off, it won its third-straight state championship.
Class 3A Team of the Year: Conway Springs Football
The Cardinals lost one game as it went 13-1 on the season. Conway Springs averaged 397 rush yards per game and dominated the state championship game 49-7. This team scored exactly 600 more points than its opponents as it outscored them 737-137.
Class 2A Team of the Year: Medicine Lodge Baseball
Medicine Lodge came into the state tournament as the underdog as it had to face the top three seeds to win the state championship. It saw that challenge and walked right by. The Indians took down the top three seeds in the state to win the championship.
Class 1A Team of the Year: Thunder Ridge Football
Thunder Ridge waltzed through its competition this past season behind the leadership of Joel Struckhoff. The Longhorns won the state championship by a score of 46-14. This squad outscored opponents 624-98 and finished with six shutouts.
Best Story of the Year: Heights boys win fourth-straight state title and Heights girls win second-straight on the same day.
It was a big for Wichita Heights basketball. The girls team took the floor and walked to a 64-46 win over Olathe Northwest. Then, the boys team took the floor, defeated BV Northwest for the third straight year in the title game. (NOTE: In 5A, the Kapaun boys and girls both won a state title, so the Wichita City League won every basketball state championship it could in the 2011-12 season.)
