Bellevue
The 2022 edition of the annual Nexstar Sports Awards was held on Thursday, June 23, 2022, at The Warehouse in Downtown Wichita Falls.
During the ceremony, 17 awards were given to local athletes, coaches, and teams for their accomplishments during the 2021-2022 school year.
Additionally, six local legends were inducted into the Nexstar Sports Hall of Fame, and six former Midwestern State University athletes were acknowledged and honored.
Below, you can find the full list of award recipients from the 2022 Nexstar Sports Awards:
TEAM OF THE YEAR
The City View Mustangs won a school-record 34 games in the 2021-2022 school year, advancing to the UIL State Tournament for the first time in program history.
City View carried a 23-game win streak into their 3A State Semifinal showdown against top-ranked Dallas Madison.
Was it the Mustangs’ offense or defense that led to this historic season?
How about both? The Mustangs held 11 opponents to 44 points or less.
And, they eclipsed 90 points six times, surpassing the century mark in three of those.
Nominees — Hirschi Boys’ Basketball, Iowa Park Softball
PLAY OF THE YEAR
Holliday’s Hannah Spears beat the competition and the clock at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Her performance set a new UIL Class 3A State Record in the mile run.
Spears finished four laps in 5:03.23, beating the old mark by nearly 8 tenths of a second.
Nominees — “Hurdling Home” feat. MSU’s Ashley Turner, “Senior Day Shocker”, feat. MSU’s Isabella Cruz
GAME OF THE YEAR
With a trip to the UIL 4A Division II State Championship Game on the line, the Huskies of Hirschi High School and the Yellowjackets of Stephenville High School gave a loud Ford Center crowd their money’s worth.
732 yards of combined offense, 45 first downs, and 7 lead changes.
Down by a field goal with 3:18 left in the game, the Huskies moved the ball from their own 29-yard-line to Stephenville’s 24-yard-line. Having already converted one 4th Down on the drive, the Huskies needed another. But, Stephenville’s defense held with just 46 seconds left on the clock to win an instant classic by a score of 38-35.
Nominees — City View vs. Brock (Boy’s Basketball, Regional Finals), Hirschi Vs. Boerne (Boy’s Basketball, 4A State Semifinals
TEAM SPIRIT AWARD
After finishing third in 2019 and second in 2021, the Benjamin High School cheerleaders continue to climb the ladder, taking first place in 2022.
The Mustangs’ cheer team bringing home the UIL Class 1A Spirit State Championship.
With 84.75 points, the Mustangs improved on their 2021 performance by over eight points and posted the best score in all of Class 1A since 2019.
Nominees — Holliday Band, Jacksboro Cheer
LARGE SCHOOL COACH OF THE YEAR
The Huskies dominated district play once again, stretching their district winning streak to 26 games.
And then, Hedge and the Huskies advanced to the 4A UIL State Championship Game for the first time since 1988.
The Huskies entered the title game on a 17-game win streak.
Ultimately, the Huskies would end up falling to Oak Cliff Faith Family Academy. Hirschi finished 29-7 in a season that had all of Texoma cheering for the Huskies.
Nominees — Eric Simmons (Iowa Park Softball), Antonio Wiley (Hirschi Football)
LARGE SCHOOL MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
On the basketball court, the Huskies captain Ernest Young led his team to the 4A State Championship Game.
Young packed the box score on a nightly basis, averaging over 21 points, nearly 7 rebounds, adding 5 assists and 4 steals per game.
Young earned District MVP for the second time and was named to the TABC All-State Team.
Nominees — Jamarion Carroll (Hirschi), A’marion Peterson (Hirschi)
LARGE SCHOOL FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
A three-sport standout, Isabella Dickens was named District MVP in volleyball, leading the Lady Hawks with 339 kills.
On the basketball court, Dickens led Iowa Park with 15.5 points per game, adding 8 rebounds a game.
She was an easy First Team All-District selection.
On the softball diamond, she patrolled the outfield as the Lady Hawks’ center fielder, earning First Team All-District honors.
Dickens helped the Lady Hawks advance to State for the second straight year. Dickens hit for a .487 batting average with 21 extra-base hits, 52 runs batted in and 53 runs scored.
Nominees — Jalynn Bristow (Rider), Raylea Parsons (Iowa Park)
SMALL SCHOOL COACH OF THE YEAR
City View boy’s basketball coach Bobby Morris led the Mustangs to the best season in school history, going a perfect 12-0 in District play and an overall record of 34 wins to 5 losses.
The Mustangs made an appearance in the Class 3A State Semifinals in their first state tournament appearance in school history, falling in a close game to eventual state champions, Dallas Madison.
Nominees — Dale Miller (Christ Academy Boy’s Basketball), Sara Lindemann (Christ Academy Volleyball)
SMALL SCHOOL MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Midway’s Christian Coker did a little bit of everything for the Falcons.
District MVP on the basketball court, averaging over 20 points, 3 assists and 2 steals a game.
District Champion in Golf.
State Qualifier in both Cross Country and Tennis.
Then, he capped off his junior year with a Gold Medal in the triple jump at the UIL State Track & Field Meet.
Nominees — Chris Whitten (City View), Jaeden Whitten (City View)
SMALL SCHOOL FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Addison led the Lady Eagle’s volleyball team with 387 kills, being named the District 7-3A Hitter of the Year.
She earned Sixth Girl of the Year honors as a part of the Lady Eagle’s basketball team that went 26-6.
Lindemann was often responsible for hauling in key rebounds or scoring clutch points off the bench.
She led the Lady Eagles to the Regional Finals in softball, at one point throwing 52 straight scoreless innings.
She finished her junior season with 308 strikeouts in 166 innings of work, nearly two K’s per inning.
Nominees — Mallory Maxwell (Archer City), Hannah Spears (Holliday)
NEXT LEVEL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
A former Rider Raider, Parker Kelly became a Texas Tech Red Raider and a key part of their baseball team.
He started 59 of 60 games his senior season with the Red Raiders, leading the team with 19 doubles and 6 stolen bases.
Kelly batted .284 with 10 home runs and 48 runs batted in, receiving honorable mention All-Big 12 recognition.
Kelly was named Big 12 Player of the Week on March 3, 2022, after hitting three home runs in one game, two of which were grand slams.
Nominees — Brea Box (Holliday, Abilene Christian Volleyball), Marcus Foster (Hirschi, G-League Basketball)
COLLEGE COACH OF THE YEAR
After winning just 2 games in 2020, the MSU Women’s Soccer Team went 12-5-3 in Fall 2021.
The Mustangs qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time under Spence’s guidance.
Much of the success can be attributed to an improvement on both offense and defense, the Mustangs scoring 25 more total goals and allowing just 1.15 goals per game, their best mark since 2016.
Nominees — Michael Meachum (MSU Men’s Soccer), Jeff Ray (MSU Men’s Golf)
COLLEGE MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Doggett is just the third Men’s Golfer in MSU history to earn First Team All-American Honors.
He was named LSC Golfer of the YEar after winning a school-record five events and leading the Mustangs to the program’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA National Championship Tournament.
MSU finished 15th and Doggett placed 11th on the Individual Leaderboard.
He also received the prestigious Marie Morgan Award as MSU Texas’ Outstanding Male Student-Athlete for a second straight year.
Nominees — James Doyle (MSU Soccer), Dillon Sterling-Cole (MSU Football)
COLLEGE FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
The Rider High School product earned several accolades in her senior year with MSU Women’s Tennis, including First Team All-LSC in single’s play, Second team All-LSC in double’s play, and LSC Senior of the Year.
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association named her the South Central Region’s Most Improved Senior.
Curry won 36 matches this season, bringing her career total to 110 wins on the tennis court.
Nominees — Anda Ghianga (MSU Tennis), Ashley Turner (MSU Softball)
ROBERT WILCOX GOLDEN MIC AWARD
Rick Edwards saw his career in broadcasting begin unexpectedly in 1996 when he started working for KWKQ Radio as a sports producer.
Just a few weeks later, he traded in the title of producer for the title of sportscaster, calling the Lady Blues volleyball game.
And no, he didn’t know a thing about broadcasting, nor volleyball.
But, Rick’s love of sports, Graham, and local athletes kept him on the airwaves. 26 years later, he’s still calling games. How many? 1,566 to be exact. Football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, and volleyball. And yes, he’s learned the rules of the game. And, he’s even broadcast a bowling tournament.
ESPRIT DE CORPS
NOEL JOHNSON COURAGE AWARD
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Six new members were inducted into the Nexstar Sports Hall of Fame during the Nexstar Sports Awards on Thursday, June 23, 2022.
A 12-person committee voted to determine the Class of 2022 Hall of Fame inductees. The committee is comprised of retired coaches, past and present members of the media, and a Hall of Famer inducted in 2019.
Over 100 Texoma athletes or coaches were considered for induction, and the list continues to grow as history reveals itself and new names are added.
Please find the Nexstar Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 below:
2022 Nexstar Sports Awards Hall of Fame inductee Rene Hanebutt
2022 Nexstar Sports Awards Hall of Fame inductee Dean Smith of Graham, TX
2022 Nexstar Sports Awards Hall of Fame inductee Aaron Taylor
2022 Nexstar Sports Awards Hall of Fame inductee Danny Nix
2022 Nexstar Hall of Fame inductee Larry Shields
2022 Nexstar Sports Awards Hall of Fame inductee Heather Schreiber-Stark- 2022 Nexstar Sports Awards Hall of Fame inductee Rene Hanebutt
- 2022 Nexstar Sports Awards Hall of Fame inductee Dean Smith of Graham, TX
2022 Nexstar Sports Awards Hall of Fame inductee Dean Smith of Graham, TX
- Dean Smith (Graham) — 2022 Hall of Fame Inductee
- Aaron Taylor (Rider) — 2022 Hall of Fame Inductee
- Danny Nix (Burkburnett) — 2022 Hall of Fame Inductee
- Larry Shields (WFHS) — 2022 Hall of Fame Inductee
- Heather Schreiber-Stark (Windthorst) — 2022 Hall of Fame Inductee
- Rene Hanebutt (Bowie) — 2022 Hall of Fame Inductee
MSU ATHLETES OF THE DECADE
As a part of our ongoing tribute to Midwestern State University’s centennial celebration, five former athletes from MSU Texas were named Athletes of the Decade for the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s.
A nine-person committee voted to determine the winners of these awards. The committee was compromised of past and present media members, past and present members of MSU administration, and past MSU athletes.
Moore is the only athlete in MSU history who can boast of being a National Champion. She was named LSC’s Freshman of the Year in 2012. In her senior season, she gave MSU it’s first and only National Championship. She still holds 9 school records, including most career wins.
A 6-foot-7 two-time All-American who led MSU to a 1975 National Championship Game. 48 years after graduating, he still holds the record as MSU’s All-Time leading scorer with 2,361 points. Devore is also second in school history in rebounding, one of only two players with over 1,000 career boards.
The two-time All-American guided MSU’s soccer team to the NAIA National Tournament three times. In the 1983 tournament, he scored a record four goals in a single game and earned tournament MVP honors. While at MSU, Hedlund played for the US National Team. After 12 years in the pro’s, Hedlund took over UNT’s Women’s Soccer program. He’s been there for 27 seasons.
MSU’s Former All-Time Leading Rusher still holds several MSU records, including 1,387 rushing yards in a single season, 126.1 average rushing yards per game, and 264 carries in a single season. Rhodes spent 8 seasons in the NFL, rushing for 113 yards and 1 touchdown in a Super Bowl victory. Rhodes holds the NFL record for most rushing yards by an undrafted rookie with 1,104.
Dawson’s 170 career blocks remain an MSU record. All-Conference First Team honors in both seasons with the Mustangs. In 2006, he led the Lone Star Conference in rebounds, blocked shots and steals. In 2007, he earned LSC Defensive Player of the Year and led the Mustangs to their first LSC title in 7 seasons. He played professionally from 2007 to 2021.- Moore is the only athlete in MSU history who can boast of being a National Champion. She was named LSC’s Freshman of the Year in 2012. In her senior season, she gave MSU it’s first and only National Championship. She still holds 9 school records, including most career wins.
- A 6-foot-7 two-time All-American who led MSU to a 1975 National Championship Game. 48 years after graduating, he still holds the record as MSU’s All-Time leading scorer with 2,361 points. Devore is also second in school history in rebounding, one of only two players with over 1,000 career boards.
A 6-foot-7 two-time All-American who led MSU to a 1975 National Championship Game. 48 years after graduating, he still holds the record as MSU’s All-Time leading scorer with 2,361 points. Devore is also second in school history in rebounding, one of only two players with over 1,000 career boards.
- Isaac Devore — MSU Athlete of the Decade (1970s)
- John Hedlund — MSU Athlete of the Decade (1980s)
- Dominic Rhodes — MSU Athlete of the Decade (1990s)
- Eric Dawson — MSU Athlete of the Decade (2000s)
- Brenna Moore — MSU Athlete of the Decade (2010s)
MSU MUSTANG OF THE CENTURY
As a part of our ongoing tribute to Midwestern State University’s centennial celebration, we recognized a former Midwestern State University athlete as the Mustang of the Century.
A nine-person committee voted to determine the winners of these awards. The committee was compromised of past and present media members, past and present members of MSU administration, and past MSU athletes.
WINNER — DOUG ELDER (MSU Soccer Player and Coach)
In 1981, Doug Elder walked onto the campus of Midwestern State University as a talented soccer player. In 2017, he walked off the campus as one of the winningest head coaches in NCAA history.
Elder played soccer for MSU from 1981 to 1984. He served as team captain for two seasons. MSU won 51 games in his four years, twice advancing to the National Championship Game.
After a brief stint with the Houston Dynamos, Elder began his coaching career.
In his 15-year high school coaching career, Elder’s teams won 13 district titles. He then decided to give college coaching a try, landing at MSU, where he was named Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year eight times.
From 2000 to 2017, Doug Elder led MSU to 274 wins, retiring as one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history, his teams winning 80 percent of their games.
