By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Bishop LeBlond athletic director, boys' golf and boys' basketball coach Mitch Girres was honored as the St. Joseph Sports, Inc. Coach of the Year, while Central's Ella Moody and Benton's Taten Piepergerdes were named the male and female scholar athletes of the year.
Girres, named LeBlond's athletic director this past summer, helped lead the Eagles to a dominant performance in the Class 3 state golf championship in Farmington, where LeBlond won the meet by a whopping 54 strokes.
"It's great to win this award," Girres said, "but without these kids, none of it is possible. I'm just so thankful to have a wonderful group of kids in order to have this award. It's special."
Girres also helped lead LeBlond boys' basketball to a Class 2 Final Four appearance this past season, where the Eagles finished fourth after two, hard fought games against top-ranked Norwood and Putnam County.
Ella Moody of St. Joseph Central was named the Female Scholar Athlete of the Year. A women's basketball signee for Northwest Missouri State, Moody played both volleyball and basketball for all four years of her varsity career, earning all-state, all-city and all-district honors in multiple seasons.
She recently set the all-time career scoring record at Central in girls' basketball, finishing with 1,421 points - breaking a 37-year old record.
"My grandpa is one of the founders of this organization and this award," Moody said. "So, 30 years ago, it was something he introduced, and I'm very blessed to have gotten this accomplishment."
Benton's Taten Piepergerdes was named Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. He's a three-sport athlete, having competed in soccer, football and basketball all four years.
Piepergerdes was named first-team all-city, second-team all-conference and all-district in soccer, while earning academic all-state honors in football.
"I don't think I was the most qualified," Piepergerdes said. "There were a lot of people here with really good accomplishments. So, I was kind of surprised, but I'm thankful for the opportunity. Thankful I was chosen."
Piepergerdes plans to attend Missouri Western and study finance. Both Piepergerdes and Moody receive $1,000 scholarships. Every other student nominee receives $500.
Coach of the Year nominees
Chris Michaels - Benton girls' basketball
Matt Jansen - Lafayette baseball
Erin Patrick - St. Joseph Christian volleyball and girls' basketball
Kendra Hodgin - Central softball
Scholar Athlete of the Year Nominees
St. Joseph Central - Ella Moody and Adam Honson
Bishop LeBlond - Chris Guldan and Emily Welter
Benton - Kally Horn and Taten Piepergerdes
Lafayette - Ellie Wattenbarger and Quentin Garrett
St. Joseph Christian - Rui (Diana) YE
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