JA senior Jackson Izzard puts the ball in the basket during a 2020-21 game. Izzard has been named the player of the year in the Central Buckeye Conference’s Kenton Trail Division. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Jonathan Alder’s boys and girls basketball players have earned conference accolades for the 2020-21 campaign.
Earning first-team honors for the boys were senior Jackson Izzard (also the player of the year) and junior Joey Walker.
First-team honorees for the Lady Pioneers were junior Mary Ferrito and senior Emma Shepherd.
Those athletes helped their respective teams place at the top of the Kenton Trail Division of the Central Buckeye Conference.
The boys won the division title outright (9-0), while the Lady Pioneers tied with Tecumseh for their divisional crown. The teams matched 8-1 records in CBC contests.
Both JA squads also finished as Division II district runners-up.
Izzard averaged 17.8 points per game as Alder finished with a 20-1 record.
He grabbed 6.2 rebounds and dished for three assists per contest.
“Jackson was a leader on and off the floor as a captain,” said Jonathan Alder head coach Zach Ross. “The more we asked him to do, the more he rose to the occasion. He is an absolute winner.”
Walker stepped up to the role as the Pioneers’ second-leading scorer.
He averaged 7.3 points per outing along with 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks.
Walker was spot-on with his shooting, hitting nearly 65% of his field goal attempts.
“Joey was a very long defender as well as our second-best scorer,” said Ross. “He was able to get a lot of deflections and blocked shots for us.”
Ferrito led the 15-6 (overall) Lady Pioneers with a 15.9 per-game scoring average (second in the circuit).
She also led the CBC in assists with 5.4 per outing and was third in steals with 3.7 per game.
Shepherd was the fourth-best rebounder in the conference with an average of 8.4 per game.
She also averaged eight points per contest.
Several Alder hoopsters earned second-team honors.
They were Grant Welsch (boys) and Evan Platfoot and Maddie Wilson (girls).
Welsch averaged five points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.
“Grant did it all for us this year,” said Ross. “He was our floor general, facilitator and defender.
“He was a real energy guy at all times.”
Platfoot, a freshman, averaged 11.3 points and 3.2 assists per contest. She hit 71% of her free throws.
Wilson, a senior, scored at a rate of slightly more than six points per game and averaged 8.1 rebounds.
She was fifth in the circuit in rebounding average.
Special mention accolades were presented to Gavin Heimlich (boys) and Ellie Heisler (girls).
Heimlich, a 6-9 senior, averaged 4.7 points, five rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
“Gavin was a rim protector for our defense,” said Ross. “He was our best communicator and was great in his role for our team.”
Heisler, a junior, averaged five points and four rebounds per game.
She also earned the girls sportsmanship honor.
Tyler Begin was named to the boys sportsmanship award.
A junior, he averaged 3.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per contest.
“Tyler is a coach’s dream,” said Ross. “He cares so much about his teammates and doing the right thing in his role to win.”
Lady Pioneer coach Steve Cawley praised his CBC honorees.
“These young ladies worked hard throughout the season and earned the recognition given by the CBC,” he said.
Joey Walker of Jonathan Alder goes up for a shot during the Pioneers’ Division II district finals game against DeSales. Walker, a junior, has been named to the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division first team for the 2020-21 season. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
In the photo above, JA’s Emma Shepherd (top) defends against a West Liberty-Salem opponent. In the photo below, Alder’s Mary Ferrito (24) goes up for a shot against Dublin Jerome. Shepherd and Ferrito have been named to the CBC’s Kenton Trail Division first team. (Journal-Tribune photos by Tim Miller)