Sports Awards: Meet the Register's high school Athletes of the Year for 2018-19

The Register announced the top performers in each of our 21 All-Iowa teams and honored Special Olympics participants and our I AM SPORT and Courage award winners on Friday at the Register’s Sports Awards.

The winners were selected by the Sports staff members of the Register and Iowa City Press-City.

Softball

Ellie Spelhaug

Pleasant Valley

She posted a 24-2 pitching record while helping Pleasant Valley win a second consecutive Class 5A state championship.

Spelhaug was one of the state's best hitters, too. She slammed 14 home runs and drove in 62 while batting .473.

She led her team in homers and RBI.

Spelhaug was the starting pitcher in all three state tournament games. In the state championship, she hit a two-run inside-the-park homer in a 3-0 win over Indianola.

Baseball

Calvin Harris

Western Dubuque

Harris produced one of the best individual baseball seasons in recent memory. And he was just a sophomore. Consider the numbers: .413 batting average with 52 RBI, eight home runs; a 0.53 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 53 innings; and a .974 fielding percentage while throwing out 10 of 15 potential base-stealers.

An Ole Miss commit, Harris was Western Dubuque’s do-it-all guy — although his primary position was catcher — and was a crucial reason why the Bobcats reached the state baseball tournament for the first time since 2012. 

Girls' cross country

Marie Hostetler

Mid-Prairie (Wellman)

In three seasons of cross country, Hostetler has finished first in the Class 2A state meet twice and took second once. She's a three-time Des Moines Register Elite selection.

Hostetler won the Class 2A state championship in 18:02.1. She edged runner-up Emily Staal of Springville-Central City, who ran 18:07.4. It was her second consecutive state title.

Boys' cross country

Tim Sindt

Ankeny

Sindt won his second consecutive Class 4A state championship with a race of 15 minutes, 36 seconds. Repeat Elite selection and ranked No. 1 all season by the state’s coaches. An Iowa State recruit, Sindt was one of the state’s top distance runners during last spring’s track season.

Volleyball

Kenna Sauer

Ankeny Centennial

Sauer, an outside hitter, rebounded from an injury last season to help guide Centennial to the 5A state championship. An inspirational leader who hit .317 while averaging nearly four kills per set. She's a Missouri recruit, where she will join coach Wayne Kreklow, a former Drake basketball star. A Register Elite All-CIML selection, Sauer was at her best during the state tournament. She had 53 kills in three matches and was named captain of the 5A all-tournament team.

Football

Max Duggan

Lewis Central

Duggan led the best offense in Class 3A and 4A with his elite abilities through the air and on the ground. The 6-2, 190-pound athlete completed 66% of his passes for 2,130 yards and 24 touchdowns, and he added 1,223 rushing yards (on 10.8 yards per carry) and 25 more scores. His 3,353 total yards were the most in 3A and fifth-most in the state. Under Duggan's leadership, Lewis Central advanced to the UNI-Dome for the first time in program history.

Considered one of the very best quarterback prospects in the country, Duggan will play his college football at TCU. He is an All-Iowa Elite Team member and a back-to-back Iowa Eight honoree.

Girls' swimming

Amy Feddersen

Ames

Feddersen ended her career with state championships in three events, bringing her career total to 10. As a senior, she won the 100 freestyle and swam on the first-place 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Feddersen also took second in the 200 freestyle. One of the greatest Iowans in relay events, she took eight first-place medals. A Missouri recruit, she helped bring Ames four state team championships.

Boys' swimming & diving

Trent Frandson

Ankeny

The other swimmer to win two individual titles, Frandson was the fastest in the 200 and 500 freestyles. He set a state record in the latter, toppling Dylan Moffatt's record from 2018 in 4:23.46.

Frandson was also pivotal on Ankeny's relay teams, which finished second in both the 200 and 400 freestyles. 

Girls' bowling

Leah Sanck

Fort Dodge

Sanck was perhaps the most impressive bowler at this year’s state tournament, posting a tournament-high 534 and winning by 85 pins. The junior led the Dodgers to the state bowling team championship. She was eerily consistent in her dominance, bowling a 268 and a 266 to win.

Boys' bowling

Dustin Beaham

Louisa-Muscatine

Beaham dominated the Class 1A state meet, winning with a score of 535 — which was the best of all classes by 23 pins. He bowled a perfect 300 and a 235 to get there.

Wrestling

Lance Runyon

Southeast Polk

Runyon claimed his first state title this season, helping Southeast Polk to a second-place team finish at the 3A state tournament. He went 40-0 with 36 pins, including three at the state tournament.

Of the senior’s pin total, 31 came in the first period, including 14 in under a minute. He won titles at some of the Midwest’s toughest tournaments, like the Gardner-Edgerton Invite in December and the Cheesehead Invite in January. 

Girls' basketball

Zoe Young

West Des Moines Valley

A fixture in Iowa girls' basketball since her freshman season, Young saved her best for her final season at Valley. Young led the Tigers to the Class 5A state title and averaged 24.3 points per game along the way. She will play in college at Maryland and was considered one of the top guards in the 2019 class nationally. 

Boys' basketball

D.J. Carton

Bettendorf

The 6-foot-2 lefty routinely commanded intense defensive attention, and he produced 24.4 points (on 54.5 percent shooting), 7.6 rebounds, six assists and 1.3 steals per game. He led the Bulldogs to a 21-2 record and the No. 1 spot in the Des Moines Register's Super 10 before falling one game short of the Class 4A state tournament. A  top-30 player in the country's senior class, Carton will play basketball at Ohio State this winter. 

Girls' golf

Britta Snyder

Gilbert

Snyder won the Class 3A state tournament with an all-class-best score of 7-under par; she shot a tournament-best 65 in the second round to get there. She also boasted the state's best nine-hole average, 34.6, and 18-hole average, 70.5. A Baylor recruit, Snyder is thought of as one of the country’s most talented junior golfers.

Boys' golf

Matthew Garside

Bettendorf

Garside moved to Bettendorf from Minnesota and immediately made his presence felt in Iowa’s Class 4A. The Iowa-bound senior was among the most consistent low scorers in the state, producing an 18-hole average of 71.25, second-best in Class 4A. In October, Garside won a rain-shortened state tournament, where he carded a 6-under 65, the lowest 18-hole round at a state tournament since 2001. He won the state crown 64 years after his grandfather, Tom, did so for Davenport St. Ambrose.

Girls' tennis

Cari Naanep

Johnston

The Johnston standout became the first player in school history to repeat as the Class 2A singles champion. She entered the state tournament as the No. 1 seed and dropped only one set en route to the title.

Boys' tennis

Rami Scheetz

Cedar Rapids Washington

The Connecticut signee won the Class 2A state singles title, becoming the school's first since Johnny Watson in 1996. Scheetz finished the year 21-0 and didn't drop a single set.

Girls' soccer

Grace Held

Pella

The Sioux Falls signee will finish as one of the best players in Pella history. Held, who scored her 100th career goal in late April, ranks second in the state with 35 goals through 16 games. Held is a big reason why Pella was No. 6 in IGHSAU's final Class 2A rankings.

Boys' soccer

Keaton Woods

Cedar Rapids Washington

Woods is the state's premier soccer talent. Before returning to Iowa for the spring, he spent five months with the Real Salt Lake Development Academy in Utah. He returned to help Washington reach the state tournament for the first time since 2016.

He's only played in 11 games this season, but made his presence felt, totaling 19 goals in that span — and that's after not scoring in the first three games. He netted five alone against Iowa City High in the substate final.

Girls' track & field

Janette Schraft

Glenwood

Schraft was a one-woman wrecking ball as a runner this past year. She led the Glenwood girls’ track team to the Class 3A team title, scoring 40 of the 65 total team points. She captured individual titles in the 800-, 1,500- and 3,200-meter races, as well as the 400-meter hurdles.

Additionally, Schraft won the 400-meter hurdles at the Drake Relays earlier this spring. The Iowa State-bound senior began her stellar year with a 3A cross country title in the fall, an effort that helped Glenwood finish third as a team.

Boys' track & field

Darien Porter

Bettendorf

Porter has long been regarded as one of the state's best athletes, but he put his stamp on a tremendous high school career at the 2019 state track meet this season.

The senior broke two all-time Iowa records. He blitzed the Class 4A field in the 400-meter dash, winning in a time of 46.99 seconds. He then anchored Bettendorf's sprint medley relay, which won in 1:30.92. Porter ran a 46.6 400 to close it out.

Additionally, Porter also won the 200-meter dash and placed second in the 100. 

Special Olympics Iowa girls' athlete of the year

Alli Schneckloth

Alli Schneckloth is a member of the Eldridge North Scott Lancers Delegation and has been competing in Special Olympics since 2008. During Alli’s 11 years of competing in Special Olympics, she has qualified for state competition 23 times and won her state division 10 times. Alli competes in a variety of sports, including basketball, bowling, cycling, golf, skiing, flag football, and track and field. This year has been another great year for Alli. She was able to compete in the Special Olympics Iowa Winter Games in January and qualified for the Special Olympics Iowa Summer Games this month.

Special Olympics Iowa boys' athlete of the year

Nick Mast

Nick Mast of Ankeny Centennial High School has been competing in Special Olympics for 12 years. During his Special Olympics career, Nick has qualified for 15 state competitions and won gold eight times. Nick will be competing at his sixth consecutive State Summer Games this month. He will be competing in the 400-meter dash, 800-meter Run, 4x100 Unified Run Relay and Soccer Skills.

Special Olympics Iowa Unified team of the year

Tina Sue and KyLee Richards

Tina Sue and KyLee Richards are sisters and a Special Olympics Iowa Unified pair from the Creston Schools Delegation. The pair has been competing together since 2013 in bowling, cheerleading, track and field, and basketball. In April, Tina Sue and KyLee ran on a 4x100 Unified Run Relay team that won the 2019 South Central Spring Games 4x100 Unified Run Relay division and will now be competing at the 2019 Special Olympics Iowa Summer Games.

I AM SPORT winner

Scott Tibbetts

Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom

Tibbetts has helped with a local little league team and was lauded by the coach for his ability to relate to the players. Tibbetts also coaches in the area's youth football program. He was valedictorian of his graduating class and is an active member of an area youth group.