No single school posed as many problems in choosing its athlete of the year than did South Decatur.

Allison Cunningham

Female Athlete of the Year

Three of its top four athletes played both basketball and softball; the fourth played volleyball and basketball. The girl who played volleyball, junior Briana Palmer, played the fall sport with bad knees and added a wrist injury and a whiplash injury to the list during basketball season.

Had she played a complete season without pain and injury, the selection may well have been even more difficult.

The three players who were teammates since fall season ended remain tough choices with Keighlea Owens and Kristin Kirchner slugging it out from the batter’s box to record batting averages of 5.79 and .565, respectively. Teammate Allison Cunningham was playing fast pitch softball for the first time and became a regular slick-fielding centerfielder with sheer athletic prowess.

In basketball, all three handled the ball well but each added additional skills with Owens being the best defender, Cunningham the best shooter and Kirchner the best passer. Palmer also could handle the ball and was the second leading scorer, the leading rebounder, and arguably the main focus for opposing teams.

Cunningham was the team’s most valuable player and scored the most points. Owens had the second-highest free-throw percentage in the state and Palmer had the highest scoring average. Of these three girls, the only one invited to a post-season game was Allison Cunningham who plays in an East-West Class All-Star game Saturday. She also continues showing her leadership as she helps Doug Einhaus conduct the Cougars’ summer basketball camp.

The added leadership and the state-wide recognition separates her from her rivals. In a very close decision, the Daily News names Allison Cunningham South Decatur’s Female Athlete of the Year.

Jordan Clark

Senior Male Athlete of teh Year