“Best Of” Overall–Looking Back and Going Forward
Todd Stapleton and Erica Foltz selected their favorite athlete to watch during the 2023-24 school sports season and the athlete they are most looking forward to watching in the 2024-25 school sports season.
Todd’s Favorite Athlete to watch during the 2023-24 season-Andrew Kelly of Vandalia.
Over my 24 years broadcasting sports in the area, and 27 years overall, I have said about a few athletes “we’ll never see one like him or her again” and I will say that about Andrew Kelly. Starting with football, Andrew was already an accomplished player coming into his Senior season as a top level DB and a very good receiver. Becoming the starting QB as a Senior, he reached levels that were unheard of. He simply dominated games offensively. And, oh by the way, he was a 1st team all conference Defensive Back again. I’ll argue with anyone that there absolutely was no more dominant player in Class 2A football player. Give me Andrew and you can have the rest.
In basketball, Andrew was never a scorer but he was always a solid ballhandler and a top-level defender. Unfortunately, injuries took most of his Senior year.
Andrew got back for baseball and it was always a treat to watch him on the diamond. He was an excellent hitter with all the tools—speed, power, hitting for a high average. He is also the best high school Center Fielder I ever saw. I never once saw him misplay a ball in CF.
Erica’s Favorite Athlete to watch during the 2023-24 season-Kaidyn Miller of Altamont.
I have always been a sports nut for as long as I can remember. The last four years since we launched I70Sports have brought about an even greater love for sports especially at the high school level as we get to promote small town schools and athletes. This past year there were so many of our area athletes that stood out to me as just plain being fun to watch but when it came down to it, Altamont’s Kaidyn Miller was one of the most fun athletes for me to watch.
I’m pretty sure when it comes to baseball, you could put Kaidyn at any spot on the field and he’s going to be a steady hand, making the routine and the tough plays and you could hit him anywhere in the lineup and he’d provide fireworks with some big bombs and timely hits. But what I enjoyed most was how he kept himself at an even keel when needed to also bringing out all the big energy needed to fire the Indians up. And Miller kept both aspects of his personality on show as he and his fellow seniors helped Altamont grab a second place finish at State.
The brute strength Miller showed on the baseball field driving a few deep home runs showed even more on the basketball court. Counted on for both his size and strength, Kaidyn punished opponents with his scoring and rebounding as he was hard to stop in the lane and would average a double-double for the year, not to mention his quickness and finesse that led to numerous steals and blocks. Again, it was his poise that stood out so many times when being double teamed or face guarded by teams to take it all in stride and just continue to work hard while at the same time, turning things up and bringing out his big energy to fire up his team at key points in so many games.
Todd’s Athlete he’s most looking forward to watching during the 2024-25 season-Qwentyn Stombaugh of Vandalia.
In my opinion, Q has the make up and ability to be a true 3 sports star for the next 3 years.
In football, his speed and athletic ability are going to be the type that very are going to be able to match. From everything I’ve been told, he has the intangibles that can make him a potentially great football player.
I try not to get into the “his best sport” stuff with 3 sport athletes, but there were times watching Q play basketball that he just kind of took your breath away. The speed, the court vision and the shooting ability will put him in a class that few will reach. There is something that great players have that you cannot describe—the je ne sais quoi—and I think Q has that on the basketball court.
Baseball can always be tough on a Freshman, especially at the plate. But, Q showed a lot getting a ton of playing time during the spring. I believe he will develop into a top-level SS, a solid hitter (with unreal speed) and he also showed some very strong pitching capability.
I’ll be honest, there’s not been too many guys I’ve been more excited to watch than I am Qwentyn Stombaugh.
Erica’s Athlete she’s most looking forward to watching during the 2024-25 season-Jenni Mezo of Mulberry Grove.
It may seem odd to say that an athlete who is coming off a strong three-sport showing in her junior year could be a “breakout” star in her senior year, but that’s exactly what I think we’ll see from Jenni Mezo this year. Jenni has been known to be a standout on the softball field since her freshman year but has quietly built herself up on the court as well.
In volleyball, she took a big step forward as an outside hitter which sounds strange to say as she has been one of the top hitters and diggers on the Aces the past two years, but this past season showed a new power and new understanding behind her hitting approach. As the Aces as a team grow stronger with their small classes each year having allowed them to have stability in the way of returning starters, I think we’ll see Jenni have a chance to become one of the better outside hitters in the area.
For basketball, Jenni has had a similar steadiness about her as she has had for volleyball as she has been one of the top scorers and defensive players for the Ramsey/Mulberry Grove Lady Rams the last two years. But again, we saw a big step forward in confidence from the shooting guard this last season after making the switch from playing more of a point guard role during her sophomore season. Much like the Mulberry Grove volleyball team, there has been marked improvement with Ramsey/Mulberry Grove girls basketball team that will have a mix of veteran and younger players and this season we could see more big strides made from Jenni as one of a trio of senior leaders for the Lady Rams.
Wrapping it all up for her senior year, I think that we’ll see the best yet from Jenni on the softball field. It’s funny to say that after a .543/.594/.702 junior season but the Third Team All-Stater who plays softball year round just keeps getting better and with two fellow Third Team All-Staters back by her side this year, Jenni and Mulberry Grove will again show why they are such a strong softball presence in the I70Sports area.
“Best Of” Presented by Hosick Motors
Comments