By KEVIN J. KELLER
Press-News Sports
One led their team to state, one led their team to a record-breaking season, one won a regional championship and one was the top area finisher at state this year. Together, they are The Press-News Spring Players of the Year.
Sandy Valley's Allysa Lancaster and Jeff Brothers, Canton South's Anna Knapski and East Canton's Cody Marshall each earned the honor in their respective sport this spring.
SOFTBALL
ALLYSA LANCASTER
The senior pitcher helped Sandy Valley to its first appearance in the state tournament and a second-place finish in the Inter-Valley Conference (behind only Division IV state champion Strasburg).
A Notre Dame College recruit and first team all-conference pitcher, Lancaster was nearly unhittable. During a pair of regional tournament wins, Lancaster allowed just three hits and struck out 19 batters. She finished her senior season with 218 strikeouts and won 20 games for the third time in four varsity seasons.
"This year's season was like living in a fairy tale. I don't think any of us ever imagined going to state," said Lancaster. "State is something everyone talks about, but not in a serious way, especially at a small school like Sandy Valley. At the beginning of the year, I would have never thought we would make history at little Sandy Valley, but we did. This year will be a year I will never forget."
"It was a huge honor to be the pitcher to help lead our team to state. My dad told me, 'you're going to take your team to state,' and he was right."
BASEBALL
JEFF BROTHERS
The big-hitting Brothers was the driving force behind a record-breaking season for the Sandy Valley baseball team this season.
The IVC Player of the Year helped the Cardinals to a 25-5 record, setting a new record for victories in a season. In 2008, Brothers broke the single season mark for home runs in a season with 13 and was a first team all-state choice at catcher.
On the year, Brothers hit .453 with nine home runs and 49 RBI. He was also a first team all-conference and all-state selection for the second-straight season.
GIRLS TRACK
ANNA KNAPSKI
The senior Wildcat was the lone Press-News area athlete to win a regional title in 2009, topping the regional field in the discus.
She won the gold in the event with a throw of 119 feet, six inches at the Lexington Regional at Lexington High School. It gave the senior her first regional crown and put her into the state meet for the second-straight season.
She also finished ninth at regionals in the shot put. She also won the district crown in the discus and was the district runner-up in the shot put.
BOYS TRACK
CODY MARSHALL
The lone junior among this year's Player of the Year award winners, East Canton's Marshall was the top area finisher at this year's state meet in Columbus.
He finished fourth in the pole vault at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in the state meet and narrowly missed a bronze medal. He cleared 14 feet even for the fourth-place finish.
He won the district crown and was runner-up at regionals. He obliterated the district-meet record and the field in the pole vault by clearing 14-3, breaking the meet record by nine inches and besting the second-place finisher by over one foot. The mark also set a new school record in the event.
He will try for his third-straight trip to the state tournament next year.
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