Indy Chronicler

Kokomo’s Chad Washburn and Eastern’s Makenna Brooks were the winners of the top individuals awards during the Kokomo Tribune’s second annual Howard County Sports Awards ceremony on Monday at IU Kokomo’s Havens Auditorium.

Washburn won Boys Athlete of the Year and Brooks won Girls Athlete of the Year.

Washburn was a three-sport athlete. In the fall, the Wildkat senior played tennis and was a part of a successful No. 1 doubles team. In the winter, he wrestled and had a 50-3 record. And in the spring, he played baseball and led the Kats with 25 runs scored, 21 runs batted in and 24 stolen bases.

Brooks kept busy as a four-sport athlete. For Eastern, she played soccer in the fall, was a diver for the swim team in the winter and ran track in the spring. In addition, she excels in gymnastics for Kokomotion. In track and field, the Comet junior reached the state meet in three different events, highlighted by a sixth-place finish in long jump.

The other big awards of the night included Team of the Year and Coach of the Year.

The girls team award went to Western softball and the boys team award went to Kokomo basketball — both won the awards last year too. Western won the Class 3A state title and finished with a 29-2 record. Kokomo posted a 25-4 record and won its sectional for the third straight year.

Coach of the Year awards went to a pair of tennis coaches, Sarah Hemmerich and Judson Quinn. Hemmerich led Kokomo’s girls team to an 18-5 record and its first sectional title since 2013. Quinn guided Western’s boys team to a 17-6 record, its first Hoosier Conference title and its first sectional title since 2017.

The following is a rundown of all of the award winners. (+ Repeat winner.)

FALL SPORTS

• Football: Eli Edwards, Eastern.

• Volleyball: Jenna Odle, Eastern.

• Boys soccer: Matty Polk, Northwestern.+

• Girls soccer: Bethany Loveless, Northwestern.

• Boys tennis: Caleb Taflinger, Kokomo.

• Girls golf: Elizabeth Mercer, Western.+

• Boys cross country: Obi Greene, Eastern.

• Girls cross country: Hannah Moore, Northwestern.+

WINTER SPORTS

• Boys basketball: Flory Bidunga, Kokomo.+

• Girls basketball: Aijia Elliott, Kokomo.

• Boys swimming and diving: Evan Butcher, Western.+

• Girls swimming and diving: Aubrey Simmons, Kokomo.+

• Boys wrestling: Mitchell Betz, Western.+

• Girls wrestling: Chloe Linn, Western.

• Gymnastics: Taylor Schmitt, Northwestern.

SPRING SPORTS

• Baseball: Corbin Snyder, Eastern.

• Softball: Brynley Erb, Western.+

• Boys track: Jeremiah Young, Kokomo.

• Girls track: Lacy Rathbun, Western.

• Boys golf: Hudson Whaley, Northwestern.

• Girls tennis: Raigan Heflin, Kokomo.

OTHER AWARDS

• Male Scholar Athlete of the Year: Angelo Anders, Taylor.

• Female Scholar Athlete of the Year: Lauren Bradley, Western.

• Comeback Athlete of the Year: Ava Kantz, Eastern.

• Coach of the Year for boys sports: Judson Quinn, Western tennis.

• Coach of the Year for girls sports: Sarah Hemmerich, Kokomo tennis.

• Boys Athlete of the Year: Chad Washburn, Kokomo.

• Girls Athlete of the Year: Makenna Brooks, Eastern.

• Boys Team of the Year: Kokomo basketball.+

• Girls Team of the Year: Western softball.+