The Lakeland student body voted on athlete of the year for each grade and for the coach of the year.

Freshman athlete of the year was Caroline Gallus, sophomore winner was Natalie Richardson, junior winner was Alden Waddington, senior winners were Riley Siegford and Katy Ryan, and the coach of the year was Tyler Jacobs. 

When asked about the award in general, Natalie Richardson had an interesting point of view. She said “regardless of which team you are on, everyone has to fight for their spot on the team and there were a lot of great candidates for this award, but people shouldn’t invest so much into the award and get hostile with whoever wins it.

I’ve noticed a lot of people who think that someone else deserved it, but at the end of the day it is just an award and we all worked hard to get where we are now. However, I am very appreciative of winning the award.” Natalie Richardson played basketball and track. 

“There are a lot of talented people in my grade and I am very excited that I was recognized as one of the better athletes and consider it a big honor that I won.” That was Caroline Gallus’ response when asked what the award means to her. Gallus played basketball, soccer, track. 

When asked if winning this award was everything that he dreamed of as a child, Siegford said “Not really, to be honest, I didn’t even know it was a thing.” He also said that his wrestling coaches were his biggest inspiration this season. Siegford played football, track, and wrestling. 

Alden Waddington mentioned how his work ethic paid off and that he was glad to win the award. “I put in a huge amount of work and dedication and I personally think I deserved this award.

It was absolutely my dream as far back as I can remember to win this award and I was hoping to win it and was fortunate enough to win the vote. Coach Stockwell helped develop me really well and Coach Kiefer and Coach Etch were great in football and track” said Waddington.

He also said that his favorite sport this year was surprisingly track, regardless of his natural talent on the gridiron. Waddington played varsity basketball, football, and track. 

Katy Ryan had some positive thoughts about winning her award. “I was glad to win the award, I worked hard to have the success that I have and I’m fortunate to have all of my work paid off.” Ryan is going to Washington State for volleyball next year and said that her volleyball coaches were her biggest keys to success. Katy played varsity in basketball and volleyball. 

Tyler Jacobs was the tennis coach and took four of his players to state. 

These players made a huge impact on their school and teams.