Another year, another group of superb performances by area student-athletes, the most outstanding of which are being recognized.
On Wednesday, 55 individuals were announced as fall sport finalists for the 2018 Semoball Awards. The selections were presented during a live radio show on SEMO ESPN Radio.
The group is the first of a total of 150 student-athletes from 57 area high schools which will be honored at the Fifth Annual Semoball Awards presented by SoutheastHEALTH at the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall on Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus on Saturday, July 14.
The fall selections are highlighted by some of the more decorated athletes in Semoball Awards history, as Cape Central boys swimming standout Brogan Davis -- Semoball Awards Boys Swimmer of the Year in 2015 and 2016 -- becomes part of a select group of four-time Awards nominees. Only two other athletes are in that club.
"I think it's a fantastic event, itself. [The camaraderie of the athletes] of the winners, I think that's 100 percent accurate," Davis said on air. "I think even just getting invited is a step up from your average banquet."
As a senior, Davis, who will continue his swimming career at Auburn, was the Class 1 Boys Swimming & Diving State Championships meet MVP, as he claimed gold medals in the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard butterfly, as well as helped his team to victories in the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay teams.
That added to his haul from the previous year, when he also won those two individual events along with two relay championships. For his career he has helped set multiple state relay and individual records.
But in 2017 he watched teammate Reagan Ragsdale take home the Semoball Awards prize.
"It was different," Davis said. "It was definitely a big motivator for me because I knew I needed to step up my game."
He's joined by fellow Tiger Aaron Harris, who has made a name for himself on the football team and has earned his third trip to the event.
Harris, nominated on the offensive side of the ball in 2016 and then on the defensive side in 2017, is back among an elite group of offensive players after rushing for 1,627 yards and 21 touchdowns this past season when he became Central's all-time leading rusher.
Harris will have some impressive company at the Bedell Performance Hall in July. He is joined by fellow finalists Cooper Callis of Jackson (3,807 passing yards, 56 passing TDs, Carr Trophy winner), Q'nairies Anderson of Charleston (2,265 rushing yards, 32 TDs), and Tray Stevenson of Malden (2,537 rushing yards, 40 TDs).
Those are only a few of the local players who put up outstanding offensive numbers on the gridiron this past fall, including Poplar Bluff offensive lineman Preston Burroughs.
The football defense category is led by a quartet of two-time finalists in Poplar Bluff's Tanner Dunivan, Charleston's Jeremy Tucker, Hayti's Ivory Winters and Malden's Jackson Wilson. Winters is the reigning Semoball Awards Football Defense Player of the Year, while Wilson was a finalist on offense a year ago.
No other sport matches the four returning finalists of the football defense, but boys cross country and boys swimming each have three familiar faces, despite just five total nominees in each. The Tigers swept the finalist spots in boys swimming.
Last year's Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year Ean Buffington, of Jackson, is back for another go around, while Notre Dame's Blake Morris and Saxony Lutheran's Caleb Cornelius also take another shot at the top prize.
Return nominees Kennedy Bauer, of Jackson, and Alaina Baumgart, of Notre Dame, headline the five girls cross country hopefuls that also includes Van Buren's Jennifer Morey and Poplar Bluff's Katie Sliger.
Volleyball's 10 finalists feature three Semoball Awards veterans, as Advance's Alanis Below, Bloomfield's Jewel Chism and St. Vincent's Jackie Verseman earn second nominations.
The only familiar face among the boys soccer finalists is Perryville's Cole Gerstenberger, who was among those honored in 2017.
Two-time girls tennis winner Hadley Hilburn, of Kennett, has graduated, but her alma mater remains strongly represented thanks to return finalist Anna Beth Williams.
Tickets for the Semoball Awards go on sale Friday, and the event's keynote speaker will be announced in March.
The Semoball Awards are presented by SoutheastHEALTH along with title sponsors SEMO ESPN Radio, the St. Louis Cardinals and rustmedia and bank sponsor The Bank of Missouri. Go to semoball.com/awards for more information.
FOOTBALL OFFENSE
Aaron Harris, Cape Central; Charles Golliday, Caruthersville; Q'nairies Anderson, Charleston; Luke Marcum, East Prairie; Cooper Callis, Jackson; Jordan Kent, Jackson; Patrick Maddox, Kennett; Tray Stevenson, Malden; Preston Burroughs, Poplar Bluff; Ian Torrey, Portageville.
FOOTBALL DEFENSE
Matt Nussbaum, Cape Central; Julian McBride, Cape Central; Jeremy Tucker, Charleston; Ivory Winters, Hayti; Jay Moore, Hayti; Cole Welker, Jackson; Trevon Lemons, Kennett; Jackson Wilson, Malden; Tanner Dunivan, Poplar Bluff; Tyreke Jamison, Sikeston.
VOLLEYBALL
Alanis Below, Advance; Jewel Chism, Bloomfield; Bailey Below, Bloomfield; Hannah Thurmon, Dexter; Bailee Williams, Dexter; Oliva Hallet, Jackson; Lainey Broussard, Jackson; Lexi Welter, Notre Dame; Lexie Barnes, Saxony Lutheran; Jackie Verseman, St. Vincent.
BOYS SOCCER
Justice Crosnoe, Jackson; Desmond Morris, Jackson; Grayson Mueller, Notre Dame; Cole Gerstenberger, Perryville; Luke Daniel, Saxony Lutheran.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Jared Neikirk, Cape Central; Ean Buffington, Jackson; Blake Morris, Notre Dame; Benton Keran, Notre Dame; Caleb Cornelius, Saxony Lutheran.
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Kennedy Bauer, Jackson; Alaina Baumgart, Notre Dame; Corin Carroll, St. Vincent; Jennifer Morey, Van Buren; Katie Sliger, Poplar Bluff.
BOYS SWIMMING
Brogan Davis, Cape Central; Sam Hahs, Cape Central; Hyrum Dickson, Cape Central; Jacob Bening, Cape Central; Daniel Seabaugh, Cape Central.
GIRLS TENNIS
Anna Beth Williams, Kennett; Kayton Harris, Kennett; Darcy Campbell, Kennett; Grace Powderly, Notre Dame; Hattie Burdin, Notre Dame.