Special to the Maroon Devils Network –More than 120 local high-school athletes and teams will be recognized on May 19 at the 58th WNC Sports Awards Banquet – presented by Ingles – at Omni Grove Park Inn.Conducted by the Mountain Amateur Athletic Club, the banquet will honor finalists for 24 awards and will present 15 scholarships of $1,500 each to deserving student athletes through the John & Darlene McNabb Charitable Foundation.The event, first held in 1959, also serves as the induction ceremony for the WNC Sports Hall of Fame, presented by Dixon Hughes Goodman.The Hall, established in 1978, will welcome four members to the Class of 2019 – former East Henderson High and Western Carolina football player Tiger Greene, long-time Enka coach Susan DeWeese, basketball coach Tom Pryor and football coach Carroll Wright.The MOOG/Gene Ochsenreiter Award for Lifetime Achievement will be presented to long-time coaches Buddy Baldwin of Roberson High and Gene Hammonds of Asheville High.The Pamfilis/Roden/Welch Special Olympics Award will go to Erin Holland of Fletcher, who participates in baseball, cheerleading, dance and swimming.Holland’s Henderson County chapter of Special Olympics will receive a $1,500 grant from MAAC.Tickets for the banquet are $30 each and can be purchased at wncsportsawards.org or by calling Keith Jarrett at 828-712-6324. The banquet begins at 5:30 p.m. and includes dinner and the awards show.More than 40 local businesses and individuals have provided more than $50,000 in sponsorship to hold the banquet, which last year drew a record crowd of 901.Finalists for the 39 high-school awards and scholarships includes:
Carole Martin/Northwestern Mutual Division II Female Athlete – Olympic Sport: Madeleine Bauer, Carolina Say swimming; Autumn Kyndall Cochran, Swain multi sports; Abigail Kriegler, Asheville School swimming; Rachel Kuehn, Asheville School golf and tennis; Sarah Pulliam, Murphy track, Olivia Sutter, Carolina Day multi sports.
Homewood Suites Division II Female Team – Major Sport: Asheville Christian Academy soccer; Mountain Heritage basketball; Robbinsville softball.
Mills Manufacturing Division II Female Team – Olympic Sport: Asheville School swimming; Carolina Day cross country; Carolina Day track; Murphy track; Polk County track.
Merrill Lynch/Keller Ferrell Division II Male Athlete – Major Sport: Jacob Autrey, Mountain Heritage football; Kaedin Robinson, Christ School football; Noah Pressler, Blue Ridge Early College; Hunter Shope, Murphy football; Navy Shuler, Christ School football.
White & Williams Division II Male Athlete – Olympic Sport: Reece Collie, Asheville Christian Academy cross country and track; River Griffith, Avery County wrestling; Jake Justice, Polk County track; Caleb Potter, Polk County track; Kevin Snyder, Christ School track.
Fields Auto Group Division II Male Team – Major Sport: Christ School football; Mountain Heritage basketball; Mountain Heritage football; Murphy baseball; Murphy football.
Blue Ridge Division of EmergeOrtho Division II Male Team – Olympic sport: Asheville Christian Academy cross country; Asheville School swimming; Avery County wrestling; Christ School lacrosse.
Dr. Lary & Jan Schulhof Division I Female Athlete – Major Sport: Haeli Bryson, Franklin softball and volleyball; Ashley Downer, West Henderson volleyball; Chesney Gardner, Owen basketball and volleyball; Eden Hawkins, Hendersonville soccer; Pali Smith, Reynolds soccer, Jaia Wilson, Erwin basketball.
First Citizens Bank Division I Female Athlete – Olympic Sport: Destiney Cairnes, West Henderson wrestling; McCollough Perry, Hendersonville tennis; Madison Polyasko, Smoky Mountain tennis; Ana Tsiros, Asheville High golf. (4)
HomeTrust Bank Division I Female Team – Major Sport: Erwin basketball; Franklin softball; Hendersonville soccer; Owen soccer; West Henderson volleyball.
Nat & Carolyn Arthur Division I Female Team – Olympic Sport: Brevard cross country; Enka cross country; Roberson swimming and diving; Roberson tennis.
Goforth Builders Inc. Division I Male Athlete – Major Sport: Josh Dotson, Reynolds baseball; Ren Dyer, North Buncombe basketball; Luke Ellenberger, Brevard multi sports; Alex Flinn, Reynolds baseball and football.
Massasoit of North Carolina, Inc., Division I Male Athlete – Olympic Sport: Terran Brown, Pisgah wrestling; Joshua Feliz, North Henderson wrestling; Haven Honeycutt, Asheville High track; Anthony Johnson, Roberson wrestling.
McKinney/Nationwide Insurance Division I Male Team – Major Sport: Asheville High soccer; Brevard football; Owen soccer; Reynolds baseball; Reynolds football.
Rodeway Inn & Suites Division I Male Team – Olympic Sport: Brevard cross country; North Henderson wrestling; Pisgah wrestling; Roberson cross country.
Paramount Kia Division II Female Student Athlete Academic Award: Madeleine Bauer, Carolina Day swimming; Rachel Kuehn, Asheville School golf and tennis; Laney Lanter, Asheville Christian academy track and volleyball. Ellie Martin, Murphy golf and basketball; Olivia Sutter, Carolina Day multi sports.
Blue Ridge X-Ray Division I Female Student Athlete Academic Award: Anna Baldwin, North Henderson multi sports; Camryn Bolick, Owen soccer and tennis; Delaney McCullough, Reynolds volleyball; Madison Polyasko, Smoky Mountain tennis; Grace Reeder, Roberson swimming; Amy Webster, Roberson multi sports.
Heath & Nikol Shuler Division II Male Student Athlete Academic Award: Robert Noland Brown, Swain multi sports; Major Eason, Asheville School multi sports; Caleb Pritchard, Mitchell baseball and basketball; ; Hunter Shope, Murphy multi sports.
Beverly-Hanks Realty Division I Male Student Athlete Academic Award: Morgan King, North Henderson wrestling; Jack Moss, Hendersonville soccer; Jackson Ray, Reynolds tennis.
Apollo Flame Division II Female Athlete of the Year: Maggie Knight, Robbinsville softball; Abigail Kriegler, Asheville School swimming; Rachel Kuehn, Asheville School golf and tennis; Hannah Tipton, Mountain Heritage basketball; Olivia Sutter, Carolina Day multi sports.
Young Transportation Division II Male Athlete of the Year: Navy Shuler, Christ School football; Hunter Shope, Murphy basketball, football and track; Kevin Snyder, Christ School track; Zeb Virnelson, Mountain Heritage football.
Asheville Citizen-Times Division I Female Athlete of the Year: Haeli Bryson, Franklin softball and volleyball; Ashley Downer, West Henderson volleyball; Chesney Gardner, Owen basketball, track and volleyball; Ana Tsiros, Asheville High golf.
John & Darlene McNabb Division I Male Athlete of the Year: Josh Dotson, Reynolds baseball; Ren Dyer, North Buncombe basketball; Alex Flinn, Reynolds baseball and football; Anthony Johnson, Roberson wrestling; Jonathan Mehaffey, Pisgah football and wrestling.
Scholarship Finalists – Casey Brown, West Henderson; Zane Edwards, Tuscola; Shelby Glance, Tuscola; Ansley Lynch, Polk County; Slade McTaggert, Murphy; Jade Monday, Tuscola; Madison Polyasko, Smoky Mountain; Caleb Potter, Polk County; Colton Roberts, Madison; Chrislyn Shuford, Mountain Heritage; Pali Smith, Reynolds; James Stewart, Robbinsville; Jack Stuckey, Swain; Luke Walters, Robbinsville; Max Wells, Roberson.