We’re pleased to announce the respective winners of the 2016-17 Press Pros Student Athlete awards for the MAC and the Shelby County Athletic League.
Columbus – From the most competitive field in the short history of our annual sponsor scholarship endowment awards, Press Pros is please to announce the following winners of the 2016-17 male and female Student Athlete Of The Year awards for the Midwest Athletic Conference and the Shelby County Athletic League.
Selection is based on accomplishment in athletic and scholastic achievement, plus, a graded essay as submitted by the candidates. Our selection committee is comprised of retired area teachers, guidance counselors, and working media.
Our male recipient for the MAC is senior Duane Leugers, from Marion Local High School. Leugers distinguished himself by leading the Flyers to their four state football title in the past five years – their ninth overall – and did so by stepping for the presumed pre-season starting quarterback, sophomore Nathan Bruns, who was unable to play due to a knee injury. Leugers took it as a personal challenge and met that challenge, eventually, with flying colors.
He led the Flyers to a 14-1 overall record, their ninth title, and achieved a personal goal of proving himself worthy of the confidence shown in him by his coaching staff…and the community.
In addition, Leugers achieved a 3.4 GPA while playing three sports, football, basketball, and baseball, and will receive a $2,000 scholarship to attend Ohio State University in the fall to pursue a degree in civil engineering.
The MAC female recipient is senior Kenzie Schroer, a standout in both volleyball and basketball for New Knoxville High School.
After recording record-setting statistics in volleyball and earning 1st-Team All-MAC honors, Schroer duplicated the exact efforts in basketball, averaging 15+ point per game, again earning 1st-Team All-MAC honors and the recognition of rival coaches.
New Knoxville’s Kenzie Schroer averaged 15 points a game for the Rangers. “No one plays harder,” says one league observer. “And she could have easily have scored more. She’s that kind of player.” (Photo Provided)
“No one plays harder than Kenzie,” says one. “And she could easily score 20 points a game if she wanted to. She’s that kind of team player.”
A 4.0 student at New Knoxville, Schroer will receive a $2000 scholarship to attend Wheeling Jesuit College in the fall to play volleyball and study sports business management.
The MAC endowment through Press Pros is proudly sponsored by: St. Henry Bank, The Mr. Shoppe, Carriage Werkes, Phelan Insurance, McSobers Bar and Grill, VPP Industries, Keyhole Pizza, Homan Equipment, Community Sports Therapy, Leugers Insurance, Moeller Trucking, Kremer Roofing, The Purple Post/Forget-Me-Not Florists, Moeller Brew Barn, The Minster Bank, 29:11 Strategies, Platty’s Bar and Grill, H.A. Dorsten Construction, Westrich Furniture, Kaup Pharmacies, and Knapke Kitchens and Baths.
Our inaugural Shelby County League male recipient is Fairlawn senior Nathan Lessing, who distinguished himself during the 2016-17 sports year by becoming the all-time leading scorer in Shelby County League basketball history.
Lessing, a 6’1″ guard, who frankly can play all five positions on the court, averaged 28.1 points per game while shooting 40% from the floor for coach Justin Tidwell. He also excelled in golf (All-League), track (All-League), and amassed a 4.0 GPA.
Fairlawn’s Nathan Lessing averaged 28 points and is the all-time leading scorer in the Shelby County League.
“Great kid, and very hard to guard on the basketball court,” is the common superlative paid to Lessing. More than one SCL agreed to him being a most worthy recipient of this award.
Lessing will receive a $2,000 scholarship to attend the University of Northern Ohio (UNOH) this fall to play basketball.
Our inaugural female recipient is Jackson Center’s Cassie Meyer, whose career list of accomplishment for the Tigers is in a word, impressive – a pair of Division IV volleyball state titles in 2015 and 2016, and, back-to-back appearances in 2016-’17 in the Division IV basketball state semi-final game at Value City Arena.
She’s a 4.0 student at Jackson Center, a co-Valedictorian in the class of 2017, and is acknowledged as a solid leader in her school community.
“She’s played since she was a fifth grader,” says JC volleyball coach Kim Metz. “She knows the game, and she’s really smart. She’s the kind of player that’s capable of figuring things out as she goes.
The daughter for Tony Meyer, a member of the Tigers’ 1985 state championship basketball team, Meyer will receive a $2,000 scholarship to attend Wheeling Jesuit College in the fall to study pre-med and play volleyball.
The Shelby County League endowment through Press Pros is proudly sponsored by: Lacal, The Heidout, Meyer’s Garage, Keyhole Pizza, Ruhenkamp Boring and Trenching, the Allenbaugh Insurance Agency, Wilson Sports Medicine, community boosters, and The Bridge Restaurant, in Sidney.
Cassie Meyer (below, #24 in black) helped lead Jackson Center to back-to-back titles in volleyball and the Division IV basketball semi-finals.
Marion's Duane Leugers led the Flyers to their ninth state title in football, while starting the season as a presumed backup at quarterback. (Press Pros File Photos)