Noah Burkey, Emily Nelson named PBHS athletes of the month for May

The Mules Booster Club has named Emily Nelson and Noah Burkey of Poplar Bluff High School the May Athletes of the Month.

Burkey, a baseball player and member of the Class of 2020, pitched for three years, throwing 99 strikeouts with an earned run average of 2.01, while batting a .382 his junior year with 44 RBIs. During the preseason, he was an all-state and honorable mention Perfect Game All-American pitcher. In the classroom, he maintained a 10.2 cumulative grade point average.

"Noah Burkey has been a leader on and off the field of play. He always works hard at doing everything the right way," said Steven Edwards, his coach. "He is a great representative of the Poplar Bluff Mules sports programs. Noah will definitely be successful in everything he does in life because of the lifelong guidance of his family. I am very proud of having the opportunity to be called Noah Burkey's head baseball coach."

Nelson, a soccer player and member of the Class of 2020, ended her last season prematurely with six goals and three assists. She won team's best offense award and lettered for two years. She earned a 3.87 GPA out of 4.0.

"She is a tough girl. [She's] been out for a year for a concussion injury, and she was really excited about returning this season," said Rusty Crafton, her coach. "She would have been a great asset to our team this year, but looking forward to great things out of her in the future."

The award is presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors.