Guests mingle as they begin arriving before the start of Tuesday's May 17, 2022 Best Preps-Tyler Awards Ceremony at the Cascades Golf & Country Club in Tyler. (Les Hassell/News-Journal Photo)

After two years as a virtual ceremony, the fourth annual Best Preps Tyler presented by Peters Autosports returned with a big bash as some 650 athletes and their guests were in attendance on Tuesday at The Cascades Golf & Country Club in Tyler.

The event honors the best and brightest student-athletes in the Smith County area.

Tyler Legacy’s Bryson Donnell and Bishop Gorman’s Elizabeth Mahfood continued to excel in the sporting arena and in the classroom as they took home the top prizes.

The duo was rewarded for their efforts as Donnell was selected as the UT Health East Texas Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Institute Award Male Athlete of the Year and Mahfood was named the the UT Health East Texas Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Institute Award Female Athlete of the Year, respectively, during the event.

Donnell said he is appreciative of the award and thanked all of the people who have supported him.

“It feels great being a part of this,” Donnell said. “I wasn’t expecting it, but I appreciate all the people who nominated me and came out to support me.”

Mahfood said she was surprised to hear her name called and to receive the award two years in a row, but she is incredibly thankful for the recognition.

“There’s a lot of great athletes here and I have a lot of great teammates, so I’m really honored,” Mahfood said.

Bryson Donnell: Male Athlete of the Year

Donnell, a three-star running back, signed with Texas Tech University after rushing for 2,644 yards with 37 touchdown as a Legacy Red Raider. He added 57 receptions for 636 yards and five touchdowns.

“Bryson is a generational talent,” Legacy head football coach Joe Willis said. “He, along with Jamarion Miller (now at Alabama), made up 95% of our offense for his junior and senior year, not to mention his contributions on special teams.”

Donnell finished as the sixth-leading rusher in school history and the fourth-leading scorer, along with being the leading receiver his senior year.

The Tyler Legacy senior had a GPA of 3.31, and he has amassed over 300 hours of community service, including volunteering with Angelic Catering and assisting with an Angel Tree gift presentation to students at Clarkston Elementary.

Elizabeth Mahfood: Female Athlete of the Year

It is the second straight year for Mahfood to garner top honors.

She is a standout basketball and soccer player. As a senior, Mahfood averaged 19 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. She led Gorman to seasons of 22, 25 and 25 wins during the last three seasons. She is the all-time leading rebounder in the history of Gorman basketball with 1,230 rebounds. She is the second all-time leading scorer in school history with 1,562 points.

“Without question, she is the best private school girls basketball player in all of East Texas and one of the top players at any level in this area,” Bishop Gorman girls basketball coach Jon Froelich said. “She is also one of the top soccer players in the area, though she did not play high school soccer. She was recruited by more than 100 colleges for basketball, though she is planning to play college soccer.”

Mahfood is set to play soccer for national powerhouse Tyler Junior College. Mahfood, who has a 4.0 grade point average, participated in “40 Days for Life” and has made several trips to Washington D.C. to participate in the “March for Life” and is a member of the National Honor Society.

Former East Texas athlete encourages students to go the extra mile

The ceremony’s guest speaker was Dr. Alan Moye, former Pine Tree High School and Baylor University baseball player who was in the Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals minor league system. He also played for the Fort Worth Cats. He is now a principal in the Humble ISD.

Moye spoke about going the extra mile and never giving up – in sports, but also in life.

“Being elite” is something Moye teaches his students so they can excel in the classroom, on the field, and in the future. “ELITE” is about Effort, Leadership, Integrity, Teamwork and Endurance.

He said for the student-athletes to be nominated in an awards program like Best Preps is a huge accomplishment, but he encouraged them to keep up their hard work and remain dedicated.

There are 15 participating schools and nominations are based upon a student-athlete’s contributions on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

Schools included are Tyler Legacy, Tyler High, All Saints, Bishop Gorman, Grace Community, Chapel Hill, Brook Hill, Cumberland, Whitehouse, Bullard, Lindale, Arp, Troup and Winona. These schools are in Smith County and Best Preps hopes to expand to other schools in the future.

Other awards given out were:

• Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System Award for Heart and Desire to Bullard’s Hadison Fults

• The Brothers That Just Do Gutters Award for Inspiration to Bishop Gorman’s Eva Meads

• M. Roberts Media Award for Going the Extra Mile to Tyler Legacy’s Gertrude Lamb

• Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System Award for Sportsmanship to Tyler’s Eli Sanchez

• M. Roberts Digital Award for Outstanding Achievement in Academics to Troup’s Marigold Hunter

• East Texas Professional Credit Union Award for Community Excellence to Whitehouse’s Ainsley Anderson

• Peters Autosports Coach of the Year to Bullard golf coach Tim Moore

• Peters Autosports Athletic Director of the Year to Troup’s John Eastman

Individual sport winners were:

• Tyler’s Kameron Key, Altra Federal Credit Union Award for football

• Whitehouse’s Paige Cooley, Altra Federal Credit Union Award for volleyball

• All Saints’ Caleb Dailey, M. Roberts Media Award for boys cross country

• Bishop Gorman’s Maria Kariampuzha, M. Roberts Media Award for girls cross country

• Bullard’s Garrett Nuckolls, Texas Bank & Trust Award for boys basketball

• Tyler Legacy’s Rose Rook, Texas Bank & Trust Award for girls basketball

• Chapel Hill’s Kylei Griffin, Southwest Floor Carpet One Award for softball

• Brook Hill’s Finn Kaiyala, J&K Storage Award for baseball

• Whitehouse’s Caleb Bolay, M. Roberts Media boys powerlifting

• Tyler Legacy’s Samira Matlock, M. Roberts Media girls powerlifting

• Tyler’s Markell Johnson, Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System Award for boys track and field

• Lindale’s Preslie Walters, Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System Award for girls track and field

• Brook Hill’s Joshua Collins, M. Roberts Digital Award for boys soccer

• Tyler Legacy’s Colleen Gilliland, M. Roberts Digital Award for girls soccer

• Bullard’s Kaiden Schneider, M. Roberts Media Award boys golf

• Tyler Legacy’s Carly Ogletree, M. Roberts Digital Award for girls golf

• Bishop Gorman’s Alexa Strong, M. Roberts Digital Award for cheerleading

• Tyler’s Quynton Johnson, M. Roberts Digital Award for boys tennis

• Tyler Legacy’s Audrey Deatherage, M. Roberts Digital Award for girls tennis

• Tyler Legacy’s Sam Eckert, H Tea O Award for boys swimming

• Grace Community’s Blakely Roseberry, M. Roberts Media Award for girls swimming

• Cumberland Academy’s Dustin Miller, M. Roberts Media Award for lacrosse