NCHSAA Athletes of the Year named at annual meeting

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CHAPEL HILL ---  Tevin Hester of Granville Central High School and Lindsay Simpson of Franklin High School have been named winners of the 2012 Athlete of the Year awards by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA).    

These are the top athletic awards given by the NCHSAA to honor the most outstanding male and female high school athletes in the state. They were presented at the Dean E. Smith Center on the University of North Carolina campus during the NCHSAA's Annual Meeting on Thursday.               

Both of the winners were selected by a special panel of media representatives from across the state. They were each presented with the Pat Best Memorial Trophy, named for the former Goldsboro High principal and president of the NCHSAA who died unexpectedly in 1988.

"On behalf of our Board of Directors and the entire membership of the NCHSAA, we congratulate these outstanding student-athletes on their tremendous achievements during their high school careers," said Davis Whitfield, commissioner of the NCHSAA. "Both have extremely impressive credentials which are in the same vein as previous winners of this award, and we certainly wish them well in their future pursuits."
 
Hester played five different sports during his Granville Central career, including football, basketball, outdoor track, indoor track and cross country. He played only three years of football due to an injury suffered in summer basketball but ran cross country during that season. The other sports he competed in for four years each, was captain of three different teams and earned all-conference honors seven times.
 
During football season, he ran for 19 touchdowns and 1,247 yards rushing, and followed that with 18.5 points per game in basketball. He is Granville Central's all-time leading scorer in basketball.  In outdoor track, he is already the two-time conference athlete of the year and was the state indoor champion in the 55 meters with a meet record of 6.39 seconds. He recorded the second best time ever by a North Carolinian in the 2012 New Balance national meet in the 60 meters and has earned all-American recognition in both indoor and outdoor track.
 
Hester, who won a WRAL-TV Extra Effort Award earlier this year, will attend Clemson University on a track and field scholarship.
 
Simpson has had a remarkable high school career as a star in volleyball and basketball. In volleyball she was a two-time Western North Carolina Athletic Conference Player of the Year, a four-year starter who averaged a remarkable 5.7 kills per game this season. She set school career records with 1,208 kills and 1,605 assists.
 
She has been one of the top scorers in the state in women's basketball, finishing with 2,693 career points as the second all-time leading scorer in western North Carolina and her school's career leader.. She has been selected for the North Carolina Coaches Association East-West all-star basketball game and the Blue-White all-star game in western North Carolina on the basis of a 27.6 points per game average this season to go with 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assist and 2.0 steals.  As a junior, she averaged 30.1 points per game and in one game scored 27 points in a single quarter.
 
Simpson earned Associated Press all-state honors and was also the Western North Carolina Athletic Conference Player of the Year in basketball.
 
 An outstanding student, she is a member of the National Honor Society and serves on the Student Councijl. She will continue her athletic and academic career at Western Carolina University next fall.

This is the 27th year in which awards have been given to the top overall male and female athletes.  Previous winners of the award include:
 
NCHSAA ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
Winners of the Pat Best Memorial Trophy
 
                            Female                                          Male
1985-86                Pam Doggett, Dudley                      Patrick Lennon, Whiteville
1986-87                Andrea Stinson, North Mecklenburg Robert Siler, Jordan-Matthews
1987-88                LeAnn Kennedy, Trinity                  Chester McGlockton, Whiteville
1988-89                Danyel Parker, Clinton                   Ethan Albright, Grimsley
1989-90                Karen Davis, Forbush                    David Inman, Terry Sanford
1990-91                Christy Cagle, Hayesville               Mike Kendall, Albemarle
1991-92                Wendy Palmer, Person                 Rusty LaRue, Northwest Guilford
1992-93                Holly Hill, SW Randolph                Tyrone Westmoreland, South Iredell
1993-94                Jamie Parsons, Millbrook              Brian Roseboro, T.W. Andrews
1994-95                Aedrin Murray, Chatham Central    Na Brown, Reidsville
1995-96                Shea Ralph, Terry Sanford             Titcus Pettigrew, West Forsyth
1996-97                Jackie Houston, Kings Mountain     Tyrell Godwin Bladen
1997-98                Clifeteana McKiver, East Duplin      Julius Peppers, Southern Nash
1998-99                Anna Tharrington, Southern Nash    Nick Maddox, A.L. Brown
1999-2000            Courtney Willis, Terry Sanford          Manny DeShauteurs, Brevard
2000-01                Molly Pyles, Hendersonville            Derrele Mitchell, R.J. Reynolds
2001-02                Katrelle Armwood, Durham School of Arts  A.J. Davis, Northern Durham
2002-03                Anna Evans, Lumberton               Drew Williamson, Cummings
2003-04                Eva Baucom, Forest Hills             Jim Ollis, Polk County
2004-05                Jessie Sims, West Henderson      Terrell Hudgins, Rocky Mount
2005-06                Megan Zullo, Farmville Central       Kendric Burney, Southwest Onslow
2006-07                Gabby Mayo, Southeast Raleigh    Dee Bost, Concord
2007-08                Jannetta Robinson, Pender            E.J. Abrams-Ward, Thomasville
2008-09                Ali Ford, Freedom                         Tyler Shatley, East Burke
2009-10                Leah Mackley, Pender                  Kareem Martin, Roanoke Rapids
2010-11                Courtney Melvin, East Bladen        Romar Morris, Salisbury
2011-12                Lindsay Simpson, Franklin            Tevin Hester, Granville Central

Over 200,000 athletes compete in the NCHSAA's 23-sport program.