North Union’s Preston Crabtree, left, and Journey Blevins, right, have earned first-team Central District honors in Division III. (Journal-Tribune photos by Sam Dillon)
Sports writers from throughout the Central District have bestowed boys and girls basketball honors for the 2019-20 season.
Writers recently met in Columbus to discuss players from teams in Divisions I-IV. They named first, second and third teams (each with seven players) and a handful of honorable mention hoopsters.
The Union County area is once again well-represented in Divisions I-II-III.
Boys’ first-team honors have been awarded to Jackie Santa-Emma of Jonathan Alder (Division II) and Preston Crabtree of North Union (Division III).
First-team accolades for local girls went to Jonathan Alder’s Sydney Bourquin (Division II) and Journey Blevins of North Union (Division III).
These players helped lead their teams to divisional championship honors in the Central Buckeye Conference.
In addition, North Union’s Brian Terrill has been named the boys Division III coach of the year. He guided the Wildcats to a 21-0 regular season.
North Union’s Brian Terrill is the Central District Division III boys basketball coach of the year.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
While the quartet represents the local area’s first team honorees, they are by no means the only ones to earn honors.
Additional boys accolades are as follows:
Second team
Marysville’s Jack Christian (Division I) and Jackson Izzard of Jonathan Alder.
Third team
Garrett Taylor, Marysville; Connor Terrill, North Union; and Braylon Green, Fairbanks (Division III).
Honorable mention
Henry Walker, Jonathan Alder; and Harley Day, North Union.
Several additional local girls were also honored as follows:
Second team
Melissa Walbom, Jonathan Alder.
Third team
Abby Jones, Jonathan Alder.
Honorable mention
-Tinley Graves and Haley Cook, Marysville (Division I); Gabby Ziegler, North Union; Mary Ferrito, Jonathan Alder; and Carly Lehman, Fairbanks (Division III).
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First team
Santa-Emma, a senior guard, is averaging 14.3 points and 5.4 assists per game for the 18-4 Pioneers. He is shooting more than 34 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
Crabtree is a 6-2 junior wing for the Wildcats. He is scoring nearly 15 points per contest, while hitting 47 percent from the field. He is also averaging four rebounds and a pair of assists per game.
Bourquin, a 5-8 senior guard, leads the 21-3 Lady Pioneers with a 12.6 scoring average and dishes for seven assists per contest.
Blevins is a 6-0 junior post player. She averages 13.2 points and six rebounds for a Lady Cats team that is 16-8 on the season.
Second team
Christian is a 5-10 junior guard. He is averaging 18.5 points per game for the 15-8 Monarchs, who finished in a three-way tie with Upper Arlington and Dublin Cofman for the championship of the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division. He also averages nearly five rebounds per contest.
Izzzard is a 6-3 senior wing. He is averaging 14.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest. Izzard is shooting nearly 72 percent from the free throw line and 35 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
Walbom is a 5-8 senior wing. She is averaging 12 points and five rebounds per game.
Third team
Taylor, a 6-5 junior post, is averaging 16.5 points and five rebounds per contest. He is shooting 63 percent from the field and had eight consecutive games during which he scored 20 or more points each outing earlier in the season.
Terrill is a 5-10 senior guard. He is averaging 9.9 points and 4.3 assists per contest.
Green is a 6-5 junior post player for the 11-11 ?? Panthers. He led or leads the Panthers in scoring (12.4) and rebounds (11.4) per contest.
Jones, a 5-10 senior wing, is averaging12.3 points per game.
Honorable mention
Walker, a 6-7 post player, is averaging 10 points and six rebounds per game.
Day, a 6-5 post player, is averaging 10 points and seven rebounds for game.
Graves, a 5-7 junior guard, averaged 11 points per game for the Lady Monarchs, who recently won their first tournament game in six seasons. They finished the campaign with an 11-12 record.
Cook, a 5-10 wing, averaged nine points per game for MHS.
Ziegler, a 5-11 senior post-forward, is averaging 8.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
Ferrito, a 5-10 sophomore wing, is averaging nine points per game.
Lehman, 5-6 freshman point guard, averaged 10.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and two assists per game as the Lady Panthers finished the season with a 10-13 record.
Jackie Santa-Emma of Jonathan Alder eyes a shot beyond the three-point arc. Santa-Emma is a first-team Division II honoree in the Central District. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Sydney Bourquin of JA is fouled going to the basket. Bourquin was named to the Central District Division II first-team. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Marysville’s Jack Christian, prepares to pass the ball between a pair of Hilliard Davidson defenders. Christian has been named to the Division I second team for the Central District. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
JA’s Jackson Izzard (5), top photo, hits a jumper and Melissa Walbom (10), bottom photo, drives to the basket. Both earned second-team honors in Division II for the Central District. (Journal-Tribune photos by Tim Miller)
These local high school basketball players earned third team Central District accolades. They are from top to bottom, Marysville’s Garrett Taylor (Division I), North Union’s Connor Terrill (Division III) and Braylon Green of Fairbanks (Division III). (Journal-Tribune photos by Tim Miller and Sam Dillon)
Abby Jones of Jonathan Alder drives in a a lay-up. Jones has been named to the girls third team for Division II in the Central District. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
LEHMAN WALKER FERRITO
GRAVES ZIEGLER
DAY COOK