With January 2011 only a few days away, I thought it was time to hand out my 2010 Athletes of the Year awards.

Covering the Verde Valley sports scene can be challenging but nonetheless rewarding because I get to see so many great athletes and their timeless performances.

Shortstop Mike Boler made play after play up the middle to help lead his Camp Verde High School baseball team to the state championship game, only to suffer the agony of defeat.

Kevin Cox of the Sedona Red Rock High School track and field team earned four gold medals in the regional meet in April and three in the state championships a week later.

Luke Goettl won his fourth consecutive individual state championship for the Mingus Union High School wrestling team in February.

Although I wasn’t there, hearing about seventh-grade runner Penny Fenn representing her school and her community in the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in Alabama last month was a tearjerker to say the least.

With professional athletes earning millions upon millions of dollars and still wanting more and top college athletes and their families being accused of taking money left and right, amateur athletics is the only pure sport left.

With that said, all of our Verde Valley athletes and their coaches deserve a round of applause.

For my top Male Athlete of 2010, I’d like to congratulate Cox. His gold medal performances in the 100- and 200-meter dash events were outstanding and his gold medal in the long jump seemed to come easy.

Cox was a First Team All-region award winner and a received an All-State Honorable Mention award for the Scorpions in basketball, leading Sedona in scoring [16.5] and rebounding [6.5]. Cox is only one of three players to play all four years at the varsity level for Sedona basketball.

Runner-up to Cox for the Male Athlete of 2010 award would be Boler for the Cowboys.

Those who followed Boler’s high school career will remember his leadership on and off the playing field most of all.

Boler was asked to throw out the first pitch next to big leaguer Doug Davis at the new baseball field in Camp Verde and was a three-sport athlete for the Cowboys.

Boler played football, basketball and baseball for Camp Verde. Boler earned All-Region and All-State awards in May for his performance on the baseball field and was the 2A Central MVP.

Receiving honorable mention for the Male Athlete of 2010 award, I’d like to nominate several athletes for their solid performances.

Tanner Rezzonico of Camp Verde led his team in rushing with 884 yards and 10 touchdowns to receive an All-State selection this fall. Rezzonico played baseball as well for the Cowboys, earning an All-Region selection.

Ryan Cadigan of Sedona led the Scorpions in goals scored after all was said and done in February, while Jesus Rivera was the 800-meter state champion with a 1:57.15 time for the Scorpions.

Hunter Zwart was outstanding for the Marauders baseball team in the spring, hitting .467 with nine home runs and 41 RBI to go along with his 11 doubles and three triples.

Roman Bux of Camp Verde wrestled his way to a state championship at 140 pounds in February while Mingus’ Alexander Lineberry earned his way to a second-place finish at state in tennis singles in May.

I wouldn’t want to forget Mingus senior Juan Gonzalez, who led the Marauders football team to a 9-3 overall record while scoring seven touchdowns and finishing second on the team with 97 tackles and four interceptions.

For my top Female Athlete of 2010, I’d like to award Mingus graduate Tessa Fanning.

Fanning helped the girls soccer team claim its first state championship in February at the goalkeeper position and hit .611 with nine home runs and 52 runs batted in for the softball team in the spring.

Receiving runner-up for my top Female Athlete of 2010 is Camp Verde sophomore Donnie Buss.
Buss was a First Team All-Region selection in volleyball this fall and is one of the top guards for the Cowboys basketball team as well.

Buss also received several awards while participating in track and field for Camp Verde, making her one of the most well-rounded athletes in the Verde Valley.

Receiving honorable mention would be Sedona softball standout Whitney Cooper, who hit .646 with 14 home runs and 70 RBI.

Cooper had 13 doubles and seven triples and also pitched for the Scorpions, recording a 1.68 ERA in 87 innings pitched this past spring with 91 strikeouts.

As for Fenn, she finished 29th overall at Veterans Park in Hoover, Ala., with an 11:51 time in the national championships.

Fenn won the fifth- and sixth-grade championships last year locally, and won the seventh- and eighth-grade title this season.

Camp Verde’s Shayna Sterrett got a First Team All-Region award this fall for her performance on the volleyball court and did an excellent job playing first base for the Cowboys in the spring.

Last but not least, sophomore Mykala Seresun was outstanding in 2010, finishing second overall in the 3, 200-meter run as a freshman in the spring. Seresun earned a title this fall in cross country, finishing first overall in the Division IV Section II championship meet in Flagstaff with a 19.36 time.

Congratulations to all of our Verde Valley athletes and here’s to a great 2011 sports season.