At SoMo Sports, we understand the importance of student-athletes competing in prep sports in terms of development, both mentally and physically, for young adults who are preparing for life after high school.
Not only does competing in prep sports help build character, but it also provides student-athletes with tools such as communication, leadership and self-drive that will benefit them as they continue on life’s journey.
With that in mind, SoMo Sports wanted to honor the top athletes in the area who put in countless hours of hard work during practice, workouts, games/meets as well as on their own time by naming them as a SoMo Sports Athlete of the Year.
The Athlete of the Year selections go out to the top area athlete in each sport during the fall, winter and spring prep seasons.
The standout athletes are chosen by SoMo Sports reporters Jason Peake and Lucas Davis, who tirelessly cover prep sports for Joplin and its surrounding communities during the school year. Along with nominations by area coaches, SoMo Sports used individual accomplishments during the regular season and postseason as well as team success as factors for choosing each Athlete of the Year.
The SoMo Sports Athletes of the Year awards will be divided up in three stories—fall, winter and spring. Each sport will have an Athlete of the Year, and if warranted, there may be one or two honorable mentions per sport as well.
The SoMo Sports Athletes of the Year three-part story is sponsored by Cell Phone Medics.
SOMO SPORTS SPRING ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
BOYS TRACK & FIELD
Donovyn Fowler, Joplin, senior
Donovyn Fowler’s senior season at Joplin High School could be described as remarkable and historic. In one of the best individual seasons in JHS history, Fowler captured conference, district, sectional and state titles in both the long jump and triple. Fowler went undefeated in both events the entire spring, setting school records along the way.
At the Class 5 state track meet, Fowler won the long jump with a leap of 25-3.25. The mark is a new Class 5 meet record. Fowler won the triple jump with his mark of 49-8.25. He became the first athlete from JHS to win two state titles in the same season. Fowler, who also qualified for state in the 200 and with the team’s 4×100 relay, led the Eagles to a second-place finish in the team standings. It’s the first time since 1978 a Joplin team finished in the top four at state.
Fowler will continue his athletic career at Oklahoma.
HM: Grayson Smith, Webb City; Donovahn Watkins, Joplin
GIRLS TRACK & FIELD
Addison Lawrence, College Heights Christian, junior
For the second straight season, College Heights Christian’s Addison Lawrence brought home multiple gold medals from the state track meet. And for the second straight season, Lawrence is the SoMo Sports Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
A junior, Lawrence earned all-state honors in four events at the Class 2 state track meet, with two first-place finishes to go along with a runner-up and fourth-place showing. Lawrence was the state champion in the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.97 seconds. She won the same event in Class 1 in ’21. Lawrence led the Cougars to podium finishes in two relays, capturing gold and silver medals. The CHC team of Jayli Johnson, Lauren Ukena, Emily Winters and Lawrence won the 4×400-meter relay in 4 minutes, 9 seconds. College Heights Christian’s 4×200-meter relay team of Johnson, Ukena, Winters and Lawrence finished second with a time of 1:48.5.
Lawrence also finished fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.67 seconds. With Lawrence leading the way, the Cougars finished fifth in the Class 2 team standings. Ahead of the state championships, Lawrence was the district and sectional champ in both the 200 and 400.
In a season to remember, Lawrence won four individual events at the Ozark 7 Conference Meet—the 100, 200, 400 and long jump. Lawrence set the school record in the 200 with a time of 25.35 and the team’s 4×400 ran a record time of 4:07.87.
HM: Ally Montez, Carl Junction; Jennalee Dunn, Joplin.
BOYS TENNIS
Ian Ding and Tyler Brouhard, Thomas Jefferson Independent
In a season to remember, Thomas Jefferson’s Ian Ding and Tyler Brouhard finished third in the Class 2 doubles bracket at the MSHSAA Boys Tennis Championships. The duo concluded the season with a 27-3 record in doubles matches.
At the state tourney, Ding and Brouhard advanced to the semifinals, where they suffered a three-set setback to Ladue’s Brian Tokarczyk and Amit Kadan. In the third-place match, the Cavaliers defeated Parkway West’s Kai Daudsyah and Winston Gao in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.
Ding and Brouhard led the Cavaliers to a 13-3 record in dual matches. Ding was a senior, while Brouhard was a junior this past spring.
BASEBALL
Levi Helm, pitcher, McDonald County, senior
McDonald County pitcher Levi Helm had perhaps the biggest bounce back season of any SoMo Sports Athlete of the Year selection. After a junior campaign filled with frustrations similar to Rick Ankiel in not being able to find the strike zone on the mound, Helm flipped the fortunes of his prep career as a senior. One of the most dominating pitchers in the area this season, Helm turned in a 6-2 record to go along with a 2.25 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 59 innings pitched, issuing just 19 walks. Even better, Helm was just as dominant at the plate after posting a .374 batting average with four home runs, four doubles and a pair of triples to go along with 23 RBI. Helm’s success on the bump and in the box was not only integral to McDonald County’s 22-9 season, it earned him unanimous first-team All-Big 8 Conference as well as first-team all-state honors by the MHSBCA.
HM: Kyler Stokes, Joplin; Cy Darnell, Webb City; Cole Martin, McDonald County
SOFTBALL
Madi Bentley, pitcher, Diamond, senior
Madi Bentley had perhaps one of the most memorable seasons in her final year with the Diamond Wildcats. The senior pitcher, who is committed to Southwest Baptist, not only dominated in the circle, but was as potent at the plate all season long to help lead her Wildcats to their first ever state title in a 6-4 win over Skyline in the Class 2 championship as well as a school best 29-3 record.
Bentley, who earned the complete-game win in the ‘ship, finished with a 19-2 record with a 1.75 ERA in 21 starts this season while striking out 235 batters and walking just 31 through 131 2/3 innings, holding opposing hitters to a .178 batting average in the process. At the plate, Bentley hit .480 to go along with 17 doubles, 11 home runs and three triples. She also drove in 48 runs. Bentley, a first-team all-state honoree, also left her historical mark on the program with career records of 657 strikeouts in the circle as well as 23 home runs with a bat in her hands.
BOYS GOLF
Jack Spencer, Carl Junction, freshman
It was quite a freshman season for Carl Junction’s Jack Spencer. He earned a win at the Carthage Invitational to go along with a third-place standing at the Ozark Invitational. He also added a fifth-place finish at the Twin Hills Invitational and was a qualifier for the Horton Smith competition all while averaging 76 strokes per round. Spencer topped his first prep season off with all-district honors and a seventh-place finish in the Class 4 state tournament.
GIRLS SOCCER
Lauren Burgess, Carl Junction, senior
Carl Junction senior forward Lauren Burgess had an impressive final season on the pitch for the Bulldogs. The four-year varsity starter capped her career by helping lead Carl Junction to a 21-6 record, the best season from the Bulldogs in nearly a decade, as well as a berth to the quarterfinals of the state tournament.
Burgess finished the year with a team-high 26 goals and added a team-high 22 assists. She earned Class 3 Region 3 Offensive Player of the Year, District 6 Player of the year and was also named first-team all-conference.
