Olympian Johnny Quinn is the scheduled guest speaker for the second annual Best Preps, presented by UT Tyler Health East Texas. It will be streamed on bestprepstyler.com and the Tyler Morning Telegraph’s Facebook page. It is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The second annual Best Preps, presented by UT Tyler Health East Texas, will be streamed on bestprepstyler.com and the Tyler Morning Telegraph’s Facebook page. It is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. tonight.

Olympian Johnny Quinn is the scheduled guest speaker. Quinn, who lettered in football and track at North Texas, was a member of the U.S. National Bobsled Team and competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics. He also was a member of the Buffalo Bills and the Green Bay Packers of the NFL and the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic the Tyler Morning Telegraph and TylerPaper.com wanted to honor area student-athletes.

The 2020 Best Preps will be different than the 2019 version. Instead of honoring athletes in person at the big ceremony at The Cascades Golf & Country Club, we did so online due to social distancing.

Nominations for athletes recognized in each sport and cheerleading were sought from coaches of 15 participating schools based upon a student-athlete’s contributions on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

Once the nominations were gathered, a committee comprised of community members from around the area looked over a book compiled of the nominations and voted for awards in each sport, as well as the awards for special achievement. This year’s committee included Bill Coates (KTBB Sports Director), Cindy Smoak (SPORTyler Executive Director), Jimmy Hicks (Coca-Cola Bottling Co.), Joe Buie (Tyler Morning Telegraph), Brandon Ogden (Tyler Morning Telegraph) and Phil Hicks (Tyler Morning Telegraph).

We thank the coaches for submitting nominations, and the committee members for volunteering their time and the effort they put forth in choosing the student-athletes who appear in this section.

Other major sponsors include Peters Autosports and East Texas Professional Credit Union.

Others include VeraBank (Platinum Sponsor) and Altra Federal Credit Union (Varsity Sponsor).

Gold sponsors include Texas Bank and Trust, Jack O’Diamonds Honda, Jack O’Diamonds Lincoln and J&L Storage Ltd.

We congratulate all the athletes who were nominated and recognized in the Best Prep broadcast. This program is a reminder of all the outstanding young people in the area.

One player from each school in every sport, both boys and girls, will be recognized as that sport’s overall “Best Preps” student athlete of the year.

Coaches in each sport at every high school included will nominate one outstanding athlete to be recognized as their “Best Preps” MVP. From those nominated players in each sport, a “Best Preps Student Athlete of the Year” will be chosen for that sport.

Nominated players must maintain a 3.0 GPA during the school year, must have at least 10 hours of community service, and they will be judged on their leadership skills and their impact on their teammates based on their coach’s assessment.

Schools included for this year in the second annual event are Tyler Lee, John Tyler, Tyler All Saints, Tyler Bishop Gorman, Tyler Grace Community, Bullard Brook Hill, Tyler East Texas Christian Academy, Tyler Cumberland Academy, Whitehouse, Bullard, Lindale, Arp, Troup, Winona and Chapel Hill.

Sports being honored are Altra Federal Credit Union Award for football, Altra Federal Credit Union Award for volleyball, Texas Bank & Trust Award for boys basketball, girls basketball, J&K Storage Ltd. Award for baseball, softball, boys cross country, girls cross country, M. Roberts Digital Award for boys swimming, M. Roberts Digital Award for girls swimming, cheerleading, boys powerlifting, girls powerlifting, Jack O’Diamonds Award for boys golf, girls golf, boys soccer, girls soccer, boys tennis, girls tennis, boys track and girls track. Also, Peters Autosports Athletic Director of the Year.

There will also be awards given for UT Health East Texas Award for Heart and Desire, Jack O’Diamond Honda Award for Going the Extra Mile, Sportsmanship, East Texas Professional Credit Union Award for Outstanding Achievement in Academics, VeraBank Award for Community Excellence, Tyler Morning Telegraph Male Athlete of the Year, Tyler Morning Telegraph Female Athlete of the Year, Coach of the Year and Peters Autosports Athletic Director of the Year.

A special section will appear in the Sunday, May 17 Tyler Morning Telegraph.

2020 Best Preps Nominations

Football — Tyler Lee: Jeremiah Turner; Tyler All Saints: Russell Wynne; Tyler Bishop Gorman: Matthew Favre; Tyler Grace Community: Joshua Glenney; Bullard Brook Hill: Jake Shaffer; Tyler East Texas Christian Academy: Win Fox; Lindale: Luke Sandifer; Whitehouse: Cooper Clemons; Bullard: Tanner Fowler; Arp: Jacob Langlinais; Winona: Jose Barrera.

Volleyball — Robert E. Lee: Anasha Martin; John Tyler: Michiah McFarland; All Saints: Olivia Young; Bishop Gorman: Delaney Douglas; Grace Community: Anna Olson; Brook Hill: Laurel Reed; ETCA: Meredith Spencer; Tyler Cumberland Academy: Stephanie Root; Lindale: Elizabeth Hutchens; Whitehouse: Jayla Thompson; Bullard: Sara McKeethan; Arp: Marissa Alibrando; Winona: Abby Caldwell.

Boys Cross Country — Robert E. Lee: Noah Hall; All Saints: Zane Harrison; Bishop Gorman: Dawson Douglas; Grace Community:vJulian Zachary; Brook Hill: Samuel David Hall; Cumberland: Caleb Abbott; Lindale: Colton Taylor; Whitehouse: Lucas Baum; Arp: Zach Mauldin.

Girls Cross Country — Robert E. Lee: Sarah Nerdier; John Tyler: Yolana Wade; All Saints: Marian Chapman; Bishop Gorman: Anne Clare Culpepper; Grace Community: Ashlynn Hecht; Brook Hill: Diana Ramirez; Cumberland: Macy Parsley; Lindale: Bethany Roatt; Whitehouse: Ashley Smith; Bullard: Emily Berry; Troup: Marigold Hunter.

Boys Powerlifting — John Tyler: Ashton Williams; All Saints: Dustyn Rose; Whitehouse: Brayden Bulman; Bullard: Dylan Lassiter.

Girls Powerlifting — John Tyler: Jaydyn Martin; Whitehouse: Trinity Hudgins; Bullard: Leighann Langston.

Boys Basketball — Robert E. Lee: Jordan Davault; All Saints: Kyle Patrick; Grace Community: Nathan Luce; Brook Hill: Tyjuan Cannon; ETCA: Andrew Mahoney; Lindale: Kobe Scott; Whitehouse: Bryce Wilson.

Girls Basketball — John Tyler: Makia Moon; All Saints: Madeline Perkins; Brook Hill: Alyssa Luker; ETCA: Emilee Hicks; Lindale: Sabrina Vela; Whitehouse: Makala Moore; Bullard: Bailey Smith.

Baseball — Robert E. Lee: Matthew Carter Maberry; All Saints: Braden Wheat; Bishop Gorman: Matthew Favre; Lindale: Matthew Aubuchon; Whitehouse: Skyler Trevino; Bullard: Mason Kelley.

Softball — John Tyler: Jaiden Crowder; Lindale: Gracie Spearman; Whitehouse: Maddie Wright; Bullard: Jolee Dixon.

Boys Track & Field — All Saints: Nick Davis; Brook Hill: Fisher Bass; Cumberland: Jaylon Gray; Lindale: Brayson Campbell; Whitehouse: Richard Bradley Green; Bullard: Tristen Shewmake.

Girls Track & Field — All Saints: Shelby Phillips; Bishop Gorman: Maria Danly; Brook Hill: Victoria Nwosu; Lindale: Brinlee Pitts; Whitehouse: Jazmin Ray; Bullard: Emily Berry.

Boys Soccer — All Saints: Will Bellefeuille; Brook Hill: Winston Hebert; ETCA: Will Hayes; Cumberland: Jose Velazquez; Lindale: Solomon Sabioa; Bullard: Caden Key.

Girls Soccer — All Saints: Sarah Huckabee; Brook Hill: Avery Latson; ETCA: Braylee Glasscock; Lindale: Isabella Johnson; Whitehouse: Kaitlin Hossley; Bullard: Jacelyn Cowart.

Boys Golf — Robert E. Lee: Griffin Jones; All Saints: Alex Elfarr; Brook Hill: Gregory Goates.

Girls Golf — All Saints: Conley Cavender; Brook Hill: Laurel Reed; Lindale: Katherine Havens.

Boys Tennis — Robert E. Lee: Evan von Eschenbach; John Tyler: Alexis Torres; All Saints: Ben Kiblinger; Brook Hill: Andrew Gragg; Lindale: John Nilson; Whitehouse: Daniel Whitaker; Bullard: Aaron Landgraf.

Girls Tennis — Robert E. Lee: Lilly Deatherage; John Tyler: Jennifer Castillo-Avila; All Saints: Emma Self; Brook Hill: Annie Newman; Lindale: Tayllor Lane; Whitehouse: KayaDyami Arthur; Bullard: Hailey Minton.

Boys Swimming — All Saints: Ryu Martinez.

Girls Swimming — Whitehouse: Lindsey Jones.

Cheerleading — All Saints: Emma Goforth; Brook Hill: Sydney McNeel; ETCA: Maura Burket.

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