The 2016-17 All-SHAC Girls Track Team. In no particular order, Anna Shupert (West Union), Cassidy Staggs (E. Brown), Taylor Tackett (Whiteoak), Kierra Stone (Peebles), Alisan Behr (Peebles), Breauna Shoemaker (Peebles), Jessica Newkirk (Peebles), Jensen Sowers (E. Brown), Emily Fannin (E.Brown), Juanita Frost (E. Brown), Madison Hopkins (E. Brown), Abby Faulkner (Peebles), Blake Adams (Fairfield), and Mikayla Farris (E. Brown).Absent from the photo was Jenny Seas (Peebles).

Story and photos by Mark Carpenter – 

Peebles High School was the host on Monday, May 22 as the Southern Hills Athletic Conference hosted its annual Spring Sports Awards, honoring student/athletes from the sports of baseball, softball, and track and field.
SHAC Commissioner Michelle Gleim and Board Member Bill Garrett, superintendent of Fairfield Local Schools, were on hand to represent the conference, introducing the honored athletes and distributing the individual and team hardware.

The 2016-17 All-SHAC Boys Track Team. Front row, from left, Kade Houston (E. Brown), Zac Carter (Lynchburg), Matthew Mangus (Fairfield), Trent Swisher (Fairfield), Noah Richmond (Fairfield), Brandtson Duffie (Fairfield), and Nate Buchanan (Fairfield); Back row, from left, Devon Haynes (Fairfield), Nick Price (Fairfield), Wyatt Fent (Fairfield), Cole May (West Union), Bennett Hodson (Fairfield ), and Wyatt Evans (Fairfield). Absent from the photo were Brendon Kessler (Manchester), Dustin Huff (Fairfield), and Matthew Seas (Peebles).

The team champions trophies given away in Monday included the coveted Gold Glove, awarded to the Fairfield Lady Lions for finishing a perfect 13-0 in SHAC softball play. The Peebles Lady Indians also received a first place trophy as their 12-1 conference mark earned them the SHAC big school division title. Second place trophies in softball went to Eastern Brown (Big School) and Fayetteville (Small School).

The 2016-17 All-SHAC Softball Team. Front row, from left, Elizabeth Campbell (Ripley), Maggie Dorsey (E. Brown), Savannah Holbrook (West Union), Lexi Jones (Whiteoak), Hayley McConnaughey (Lynchburg), Rheanna Newman (E. Brown), Jaycie Parr (Whiteoak), Madison Pierce (Peebles), and Kylie Sims (Peebles); Back row, from left, Courtnie Smith (Fairfield), Lyndee Spargur (Fairfield), Jerilin Toller (Peebles), Paige Vilvens (Fayetteville), Zoe Vilvens (Fayetteville), Serah Whitacre (Lynchburg), Kaitlin White (Fairfield), Emily Williams (Fairfield), Caitlin Young (North Adams), and Karley Young (Manchester).

In SHAC baseball, first place in the big school division went to Eastern Brown while first place in the small school division was a tie between Fayetteville and Fairfield. Second place trophies went to Lynchburg in big school and North Adams in the small school.

The 2016-17 All-SHAC Baseball Team. Front row, from left, Ethan Battson (E. Brown), Tay Call (Fayetteville), Brandan Cornell (West Union), Clay Davis (Fayetteville), Cody Gragg (Fairfield), Traeton Hamilton (Whiteoak), Bricen Hess (Lynchburg), and Calder Holton (E. Brown); Back row, from left, Janson Kramer (West Union), Austin Parks (North Adams), Bryant Lung (North Adams), Kevin Schmid (E. Brown), Zak Smyth (Fayetteville), Klay Walker (Fairfield), Josh Wolfe (Lynchburg), Trever Yeager (Whiteoak), and Elijah Young (North Adams).

In track and field, individual awards were given to the athletes who placed first in all of the events at the conference meet, which was held on May 12 in Lynchburg.
The 2017 SHAC Track Meets were a clean sweep for the teams from Fairfield, as they captured both the girls and boys team titles, with their coach Deborah Mangus winning the SHAC Coach of the Year. The Coach of the Year in baseball was Eastern brown’s Steve Goetz and in softball it was Fairfield’s Mark Dettwiller.
Something new in the SHAC Awards for the 2016-17 school year was the naming of the Player of the Year in the sponsored sports. In track and field, those awards went to the athletes who tallied the most points for their teams in the SHAC meet, Lynchburg’s Zac Carter and Eastern Brown’s Madison Hopkins.
The SHAC Player of the Year in softball was Fairfield’s Kaiti White and in baseball it was Fayetteville pitcher Tay Call.

With a 12-1 conference mark, the Peebles Lady Indians were champions of the big school division of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. Front row, from left, Alisan Behr, Jerilin Toller, Madison Pierce, Matti Nichols, Aubrey McFarland, Hailey Moore, Josie Myers, and Kierra Stone; Back row, from left, Head Coach Doug McFarland, Kylie Sims, Johna Dunigan, Rebeccah Kinnett, MacKenzie Farahay, Hope Brown, Christian Reed, and Assistant Coach Robin Lunsford.

The final standings for the 2016-17 Delmar Yockey Award were also released. The Yockey Award each year goes to the school who accumulates the most points throughout the year, with a point scale that gives so many points depending on the finish in conference standings. This year’s Yockey Award will go to a pair of SHAC school, Eastern Brown and Fairfield, who tied with 99 accumulated points.

With a 7-6 conference record, the North Adams Green Devils, baseball squad, pictured at right, placed second in the small school division of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. Front row, from left, Carson Hall, Layne Williams, Austin Parks, Ben Figgins, Bryant Lung, and Hunter Rapp; Back row, from left, Tyler Horsley, Elijah Young, Colt Shumaker, Michael Gill, Nolan Newman, Zach Osborne, Ryan Shupert, Noah Lung, and Dalton Gardner. The Devils were coached by Rob Meade.