Here are the 2023-2024 spring sports winners for HSOT Honors
Sport

Here are the 2023-2024 spring sports winners for HSOT Honors

Posted on by Matthew Reynolds

Winners for the spring sports awards at HighSchoolOT Honorspresented by EPIC Physical Therapy and Two Men and a Truck have been announced for the 2024 season.

Throughout the spring sports season, HighSchoolOT accepted nominations from the public for each of the categories. After the season ended, our committee met and narrowed down the nominations to five finalists in each category.

Once the finalists were announced, the public voted on the winners for more than two weeks. People were allowed to vote once per day in each category.

Elite award winners will be named later this summer.

Here are the spring sports winners:

Baseball Awards

Baseball Pitcher of the Year

  • Harrison Ailshie (East Rowan) — As a sophomore, Ailshie was 10-0 on the mound, leading East Rowan to the 3A state championship. The Mustangs swept South Central to claim the state title. In 71 and ⅓ innings pitched, Ailshie struckout 79 batters while giving up just 16 earned runs. He recorded an ERA of 1.57.

Baseball Hitter of the Year

  • Braden Burress (Greene Central) — Burress helped Greene Central to the 2A state title this spring, recording 59 runs, 53 hits, and 26 RBI with a batting average of .596. He had four home runs and was struck out just five times. Burress will play college baseball at East Carolina next season.

Baseball Coach of the Year

  • Eric Filipek (T.C. Roberson) — T.C. Roberson won its second straight 4A state championship this season, sweeping Ashley in the championship series with scores of 3-0 and 8-1. The Rams were 28-4 overall and won The Mountain 3A/4A Conference title with an 11-1 mark.

Softball Awards

Softball Pitcher of the Year

  • Mary Peyton Hodge (Oak Grove) — Hodge is a junior for the Grizzlies and was dominant in the circle this season. Hodge recorded an ERA of 0.68 with 18 wins on the season. In 113 and ⅔ innings pitched, she allowed just 52 hits and 23 runs – 11 of them earned runs – while striking out 199 batters. Hodge has committed to play college softball at Arizona State University.

Softball Hitter of the Year

  • Emma Clarke (West Rowan) — Emma Clarke had 72 at bats this season and recorded 48 runs, 39 hits, and 52 RBI with 15 home runs. Her batting average of .542 and she struck out just six times. Clarke has committed to play college softball at Tennessee.

Softball Coach of the Year

  • Toby Strider (Southwestern Randolph) — Southwestern Randolph defeated Midway in two games to win the 2A state championship, taking the second game with a walk-off in a 3-2 victory. It was the fifth state championship in school history for the softball program. The Cougars finished the season with a 24-7 overall record.

Track & Field Awards

Boys Runner of the Year

  • Le’Ezra Brown (Dudley) — Brown led the Dudley boys track & field team to the 3A state title this spring, earning most outstanding performer honors. He won three gold medals and set a new state meet record in individual events. The new meet record came in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 13.55 seconds. Brown also was part of a record-setting 4×400 relay team, which won another gold medal for Dudley.

Boys Field Athlete of the Year

  • Gates Hinton (Fuquay-Varina) — ​Gates Hinton set the national discus mark for the 2024 season with a distance of 206 feet and 9.5 inches, then went on to repeat as the NCHSAA 4A state champion. Hinton set a new state meet record in the discus throw with a distance of 198 feet and 9 inches.

Girls Runner of the Year

  • Joslyn Hamilton (Rolesville) — The Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year in girls track, Hamilton set two personal records and won three gold medals at the NCHSAA 4A state championship, leading Rolesville to the team title. Hamilton set a new meet record in the 300 hurdles and also took home first place in the 100 dash and 100 hurdles. Hamilton will run at the University of South Carolina next season.

Girls Field Athlete of the Year

  • D’Anna Cotton (Cummings) — ​Cotton won four events, helping Cummings to a repeat title at the NCHSAA 2A state championships this spring. Cotton set a new meet record in the high jump with a height of 5 feet, 8 inches, and also won gold in the 100 meter hurdles, 300 meter hurdles, and the triple jump.

Track & Field Coach of the Year

  • TeQuille Jackson (Dudley) — ​Dudley won the 3A boys and girls track & field state championships this spring. It was the second title for the boys, which first won a championship in 2022, but it was a repeat win for the Dudley girls.

Girls Soccer Awards

Girls Soccer Offensive Player of the Year

  • Sofia Viana (Seaforth) — ​Sofia Viana helped Seaforth to the 2A state title this past season. A sophomore for the Hawks, she recorded 68 goals and 47 assists in 25 games played, totaling 183 points. That’s an average of 7.3 points per game. Viana attempted 119 shots this spring, with 82 shots on goal. She has also trained with the U17 Brazilian Women’s National Team.

Girls Soccer Defensive Player of the Year

  • Jessica Mattson (Marvin Ridge) — Mattson was a junior defender on the Marvin Ridge girls soccer team, which allowed just 27 goals in 24 games played. Along with her defensive presence, Mattson scored eight goals and recorded seven assists, totaling 23 points. That included one game-winning goal for the Mavericks.

Girls Soccer Coach of the Year

  • Amanda Pelch (Jacksonville) — Jacksonville had only appeared in the girls soccer state championship game one time prior to this season, finishing as the runner-up in 2016, but under Pelch, the Cardinals got their first title in school history with a 0-0 (3-2 in penalty kicks) win over South Point. Jacksonville finished the season with a 20-1-4 overall record, including an 11-0-1 mark in the Big East 3A/4A Conference.

Boys Lacrosse Awards

Boys Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Year

  • Connor Kruse (Orange) — ​Kruse recorded 72 goals and 130 assists in 24 games played this season for the Panthers, including a 16-assist game against Southern Alamance, which tied the national record. Kruse tallied 202 points, averaging 8.4 points per game. Orange finished the season as the 1A/2A/3A state runner-up, falling to Lake Norman Charter in the state championship game. Kruse will play college lacrosse at Lenoir-Rhyne.

Boys Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year

  • Wes Cohn (Athens Drive) — ​Cohn was a senior at Athens Drive this season. He recorded 155 ground balls and 74 takeaways for the Jaguars. Cohn also added 15 goals and 5 assists for Athens Drive. He has committed to play lacrosse at Jacksonville University.

Boys Lacrosse Coach of the Year

  • Kyle Sopko (Green Level) — Green Level’s boys lacrosse team won its first state championship in school history this spring, beating Lake Norman 11-10 in overtime in the finale. The Gators posted a 22-2 overall record, and won the Southwest Wake Athletic Conference title with a 13-1 mark.

Girls Lacrosse Awards

Girls Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Year

Scarlett Gilner (Chapel Hill) — ​Scarlett Gilner was a sophomore at Chapel Hill this season. In 19 games played, she recorded 144 total points, with 112 goals and 32 assists. She had 141 shots on goal, while averaging 5.9 goals per game.

Girls Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year

Taylor Alexander (Cardinal Gibbons) — ​Taylor Alexander was a senior at Cardinal Gibbons last season, helping the Crusaders to their third straight NCHSAA state championship. Alexander recorded 33 caused turnovers and 48 ground balls in 24 games played. She has committed to play college lacrosse at Marquette.

Girls Lacrosse Coach of the Year

David Gilner (Chapel Hill) — Chapel Hill’s girls lacrosse team finished the season with a 19-2 overall record, including a 12-0 perfect mark in conference play. The Tigers’ lone loss in the regular season came to Weddington. Chapel Hill lost to Cardinal Gibbons in the state semifinals in the playoffs.

Boys Golf Awards

Boys Golfer of the Year

Carson Bertagnole (Pinecrest) — ​Carson Bertagnole was the NCHSAA 4A state champion, shooting a 68 on both days of the championship tournament resulting in a 36-hole score of 8-under. Bertagnole recorded five bridies in the second round, but in the first round he made a hole-in-one on the ninth hole of Pinehurst No. 9, which was a 160-yard par three. Bertagnole led Pinecrest to a second straight team title as well.

Boys Golf Coach of the Year

Liz Barbee (J.H. Rose) — ​J.H. Rose’s boys golf team won the 3A eastern regional championship, then placed second at the NCHSAA state championship tournament. The Rampants posted a team score of 581, just 14 strokes behind first place Terry Sanford – which repeated as the 3A state champion.

Boys Tennis Awards

Boys Tennis Player of the Year

Shaurya Bharadwaj (Providence Day) — ​Bharadwaj is a top 15 player in the country and helped Providence Day to a NCISAA Division I state runner-up finish this season. He was 14-0 at No. 1 singles and 12-0 in doubles play for Providence Day this season. He has committed to play tennis at Penn.

Boys Tennis Coach of the Year

Josh Oxendine (Providence) — ​Providence won its first dual-team state championship since 2007, beating reigning state champion Green Hope in the final doubles match to win 5-4. The two teams split singles play, but Providence won doubles 2-1 to claim the title.

Source: highschoolot.com