DECATUR -- In one of the largest turnouts in seven years, athletes, coaches, volunteers, family and townspeople gathered in the great hall at Decatur Assembly of God Church May 14 to celebrate another successful athletic season.
Over 150 people turned out to witness their favorite athletes receive a wide variety of awards, including most improved, Bulldog pride and athlete of the year in each sport. In all, 110 awards and certificates were given to athletes who participated in cross-country, volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, cheer team and trap shooting on either the seventh grade, junior high, junior varsity and senior varsity teams.
At the end of the banquet, the 2017-18 senior male and female of the year athletes were recognized. Winning the female award was Mathline Jesse, who was a staple on the volleyball and baseball teams this season.
The male athlete of the year was Taylor Haisman, who participated in four sports, basketball, baseball, soccer and track. Over his high school career, Haisman holds nine state championship titles, including three in the 800-meter run and five relay team gold medals.
This was a record year for the Decatur sports program in 2017-18, with teams participating in more events throughout the season than in years past. According to John Unger, athletic director, this was a banner year for his program.
"We had 140 athletic events this year for all of our sports, whether on the road or at home," Unger stated. "This is the most events we have ever had, with some of the best participation in sports in the last 10 years at Decatur. We have seen the athletic department grow since I took over as athletic director six years (ago)."
In the last few years, the number of sports offered by Decatur has grown by leaps and bounds. So too has the number of students who participate in each program.
"We have added three sports, several coaches, grown the facilities, increased participation, competed for district championships and have won two girls' state championships," said Unger. "We have also been able to increase the number of coaches on staff, which has helped grow our department. There is no way one person can run a high school athletic department, and we have had a great team here the past few years."
This year, Unger decided to include scholar-athletes in the sports banquet, normally given during the awards-night ceremony. One athlete from each grade level was given the award, which included freshman Brownyn Berry, sophomore Deily Godoy, junior Sammie Skaggs and senior Mailee Xiong.
The future of the Decatur sports program looks bright, with many talented up-and-coming young athletes joining forces with the well-seasoned players.
"My hope is that it can continue to grow and develop quality student-athletes that graduate and become quality community members in society," Unger concluded. "I feel we have succeeded at developing young boys and girls into quality students and quality people. As I look back over the past several years, I see the impact we have made on all these students and that is what athletics is really all about."
Sports on 05/23/2018