Urbana High School Athlete of the Year awards were announced during Honors Night event on Monday, May 6. Congratulations to all the Tiger student athletes.
The Athlete of the Year awards are given each year by the Urbana Athletic department and are awarded to two juniors and two seniors as our male and female athletes of the year. The selection process for this award is completed by the Urbana High School coaching staff. To become eligible for this award, student-athletes must have a cumulative GPA of 4.0 or higher and a successful record in interscholastic sports. A list of the Athlete of the Year candidates can be found here: http://www.usd116.org/index.php/2013/04/uhs-athlete-of-the-year-candidates/
Junior Female Athlete of the Year
First, we would like to honor this year’s Junior Female Athlete of the Year, Gabi Rajic. During her time at Urbana, Gabi has been an outstanding performer in girls swimming. Gabi is a three-time state qualifier in swimming, and she has been named the program’s most valuable swimmer each of the last two seasons. At the 2012 IHSA Girls Swimming State Championships, Gabi placed 17th in the 50m freestyle swim and 14th in the 100m freestyle swim. At the end of the 2012 season, Gabi was name News-Gazette Swimmer of the year.
Junior Male Athlete of the Year
The 2013 Junior Male Athlete of the Year is Tanner Russell. Tanner is a standout performer in both football and baseball. This past football season, Tanner was Urbana’s leading receiver and one of the program’s top defensive backs. At the end of the 2012 football season, Tanner was named First Team Big 12 All-Conference as a receiver, and he was the conference’s leading vote getter for this honor. In baseball, Tanner is the team’s starting shortstop for the third consecutive season and he is one of the programs top offensive and defensive players. At the end of the 2012 baseball season, Tanner was named to the Big 12 All-Conference Team, and he earned MVP honors for the UHS baseball program.
Senior Female Athlete of the Year
Our Senior Female Athlete of the Year for 2013 is Nicole Choquette. At UHS, Nicole was a standout performer in both cross-county and track and field. As a freshman on the cross-country team in 2009, Nicole was one of the top runners on Urbana’s state qualifying cross-country team that placed 12th at the IHSA Class 2A Cross-Country State Championships. In 2011 Nicole became the fastest female cross-country runner in UHS history with a time of 17:49 over a 3-mile course. In track and field Nicole was equally impressive. Nicole is a three-time state qualifier in track and field, and in 2012 Nicole earned All-State Honors when she placed 4th in the 800m run at the IHSA Class 2A State Track and Field Championships. Nicole also holds several school records in track and field. In 2013, Nicole broke her own school record in the 400m dash with a time of 59.20. Last track season, Nicole broke a 20-year old record in the 800m run with a time of 2:14.38, and she is a member of the school record holding 1600m relay team.
Senior Male Athlete of the Year
This year’s Senior Male Athlete of the Year is Cameron Mammen. During his career at UHS Cameron excelled in both football and wrestling. As a wrestler, Cameron was a three-time Big 12 Tournament Champion, Big 12 First-Team All-Conference in 2013, a three-time state qualifier, a two-time state place winner, and he earned well over 100 wins in his wrestling career. As a senior, Cameron won the IHSA State Championship of the 170lbs weight class, and he was named wrestler of the year by the News-Gazette and the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. In football, Cameron is a three-time letter-winner, a three-year starter at quarterback, and he holds Urbana records for season passing yards, career passing yards, and career yards of total offense. Cameron’s career total of over 6600 yards of total offense is the most by an individual in Twin City football history. At the end of his senior football season, Cameron was a unanimous selection for First Team Big 12 All-Conference Honors, he was named to the 5A All-State Football Team, and he was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and News-Gazette Player of the Year.