Sunday night at Memorial High School the 2007 MHS Round Ball Banquet was held for volleyball, girls basketball, and the boys basketball teams. The evening started off with a buffet dinner for all the athletes and their parents to eat while they listened to speeches and accolades about the student athletes.

Memorial’s Athletic Director, Gary Koch introduced the coaches and gave an inspiring statement saying, “Things that you learn here are things that will stay with you for life.”

This statement was mimicked throughout the night from the Senior Presentations, where senior thank you letters were read to their parents and from each coach recognizing the athlete’s efforts throughout the season.

Freshmen boy’s basketball coach, Coach James Johnson started out the individual team presentations by serenading the crowd with his rendition of George Strait’s song, Ocean Front Property. This put a light mood on the evening and paved the way for the varsity boy’s basketball awards.

Basketball Head Coach David Lay named several outstanding players on his team. The 6th Man Award went to Russell Shelby for his ability to make things happen.

The Defensive Award by unanimous decision given to Will Booth. The Offensive Award was given to Jackson Kajander for stepping up big in every game and the MVP Award was presented to Will Patchell. 

Next the girl’s basketball coaches took center stage. Bill Cronin, the varsity head coach had several players earn Academic Honors.

Barbara Thompson earned the Don Coleman Award for being a role model, an inspiration, having high ethics, and being disciplined. Other award winners included Marissa Elliott earning the Most Improved Award. The Sportsmanship Award went to Barbara Thompson while  the Hustle Award was given to Brittany Clayton, and the Daring Defender Award went to Kirby Miller. Lara Lapin earned the MVP Award and Kristen Patchell presented the Kristen Patchell Award to Cristen Moerer.

Beth Gammill, the Head Coach of the 2006 State Semi Finalist Volleyball team closed the night with a recap of the last four years with her team.

The volleyball program was ranked 8th in the state in 2006 and ranked 5th in a national tournament. Coach Gammill was very impressed by her girls and how they earned the recognition they deserved from their opponents and the press.

Sidney Stewart earned three awards for the night, the Defensive Player Award, the Kill Leader Award, and the Coaches Award. The Ace Server Award went to Jordan Currie. Two MVP’s were named including Lauren Buchman and Jordan Currie. The team also received several Academic Honors. Log on to following site for more detail.http://mhsweb.springbranchisd.com/athletics/awards.asp?category=19.

The night was filled with outstanding achievements, student-athlete, and parent recognitions.

The Round Ball Banquet gave the seniors a chance to end their high school career surrounded by the people that motivated them throughout their four years and the underclassmen a glimpse of what the rest of their high school years have to offer.

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