These are the top athletic awards given by the NCHSAA to honor the most
outstanding male and female high school athletes in the state. They were
presented at the Dean E, Smith Center on the University of North Carolina campus
during the NCHSAA's Annual Meeting on Thursday.
Both of the winners were selected by a special panel of media representatives
from across the state. They were each presented with the Pat Best Memorial
Trophy, named for the former Goldsboro High principal and president of the
NCHSAA who died unexpectedly in 1988.
"We congratulate these fine student-athletes on their great achievements during
their high school careers," said Charlie Adams, executive director of the NCHSAA.
"Both have tremendously impressive credentials along the lines of the previous
outstanding winners of this award, and we certainly wish them the best in the
future."
Shatley is a tremendous three-sport athlete, excelling in football, wrestling
and track.
In football, he was a star who was the 2008 Northwestern Conference Player of
the Year as a fullback, defensive lineman and punter. During the 2008 campaign
he rushed for 792 yards and scored 18 touchdowns while recording 51 tackles and
three sacks. The team captain also punted for better than a 40-yard average. He
was named to several all-star teams in that sport and played in the Shrine Bowl.
In wrestling, he was a two-time Northwestern Conference champion and Western
Regional champion and was the state runner-up in the heavyweight classification
in both 2008 and 2009. He had a record of 34-1 with 29 pins this season and was
38-1 in the 2007-08 year.
He is currently competing in track and field, but Shatley is the defending state
champion in the shot put and set an East Burke school record last year with a
toss of 58 feet, 1 inch. He was fifth in the state in the discus in 2008 as
well. A stellar student who is a member of the National Honor Society with a
4.58 weighted grade point average, he will attend Clemson University next year
on a football scholarship.
Ford has had a remarkable high school career, earning an amazing 18 varsity
letters and 12 all-conference recognitions. She has participated in three
varsity sports for four years each, including golf, basketball and softball, ran
cross-country three years while playing tennis for two seasons and running track
as a freshman. She has played five sports during her senior year.
She played in the women¹s golf state championships all four years at Freedom and
was runner-up for the conference player of the year honor in that sport. In
basketball she earned the Northwestern Conference Player of the Year award this
year and finished her career with 2,502 points, seventh best all-time in the
NCHSAA in the five-player game. She also hit 286 three-point field goals during
her career, the fifth best mark all-time. Ali was chosen to play in the North
Carolina-South Carolina all-star game in Myrtle Beach, where she won the
three-point competition and set a new game assist record.
In softball, she was runner-up for the league player of the year award last year
and will be a four-time all-conference, all-district and all-region selection.
She is an outstanding shortstop who is also one of her team¹s top hitters. Ford
has signed a basketball grant-in-aid with Elon University.
This is the 24th year in which awards have been given to the top overall male
and female athletes. Previous winners of the award
include:
NCHSAA ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
Winners of the Pat Best Memorial Trophy
Female Male
1985-86 Pam Doggett, Dudley Patrick Lennon, Whiteville
1986-87 Andrea Stinson, North Mecklenburg Robert Siler, Jordan-Matthews
1987-88 LeAnn Kennedy, Trinity Chester McGlockton, Whiteville
1988-89 Danyel Parker, Clinton Ethan Albright, Grimsley
1989-90 Karen Davis, Forbush David Inman, Terry Sanford
1990-91 Christy Cagle, Hayesville Mike Kendall, Albemarle
1991-92 Wendy Palmer, Person Rusty LaRue, Northwest Guilford
1992-93 Holly Hill, Southwestern Randolph Tyrone Westmoreland, S. Iredell
1993-94 Jamie Parsons, Millbrook Brian Roseboro, T.W. Andrews
1994-95 Aedrin Murray, Chatham Central Na Brown, Reidsville
1995-96 Shea Ralph, Terry Sanford Titcus Pettigrew, West Forsyth
1996-97 Jackie Houston, Kings Mountain Tyrell Godwin, East Bladen
1997-98 Clifeteana McKiver, East Duplin Julius Peppers, Southern Nash
1998-99 Anna Tharrington, Southern Nash Nick Maddox, A.L. Brown
1999-2000 Courtney Willis, Terry Sanford Manny DeShauteurs, Brevard
2000-01 Molly Pyles, Hendersonville Derrele Mitchell, R.J. Reynolds
2001-02 Katrelle Armwood,Durham School Arts A.J. Davis, Northern Durham
2002-03 Anna Evans, Lumberton Drew Williamson, Cummings
2003-04 Eva Baucom, Forest Hills Jim Ollis, Polk County
2004-05 Jessie Sims, West Henderson Terrell Hudgins, Rocky Mount
2005-06 Megan Zullo, Farmville Centra Kendric Burney, SW Onslow
2006-07 Gabby Mayo, Southeast Raleigh Dee Bost, Concord
2007-08 Jannetta Robinson, Pender E.J. Abrams-Ward, Thomasville
2008-09 Ali Ford, Freedom Tyler Shatley, East Burke
About 150,000 athletes compete in the NCHSAA's 21-sport program.