Bloomfield, Missouri - Bloomfield Middle School held their annual Athletic Honors Ceremony on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at the Bloomfield High School gym along with the high school athletes.
The 8th grade boys basketball team is coached by Brandon Crook and Travis Westbrook.
Playing for the 8th grade team are Parker Heaton, Lane Bader, Bryant Vaughn, Will Thorn, Colton Hyslop, Gentry Bracken, Gavin Chasteen, and Nick Carter.
They finished their 2016-2017 season with a record of seven wins and seven losses. They claimed third place in the Stoddard County Tournament.
"I have coached most of these young men the last four years and it's truly been an honor," commented Westbrook. "Their biggest downfall was being too nice. Every time they stole the ball from the other team they always felt bad and gave it back. That's not entirely true, but close. they played as hard as any team I have coached at Bloomfield and if they continue to do that and develop their game they have very high potential in the future."
Awards distributed were Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Valuable Player and the Wildcat Award.
Colton Hyslop is the Offensive Player of the Year. He averaged 12.9 points per game to lead the team. "I never would have dreamed that four years ago, but he has learned to use his size, speed, and strength to get to the basket and finish."
Defensive Player of the Year is Nick Carter. "When we needed someone shut down like we did in the 3rd place game of the county tournament Nick wanted that challenged and delivered. I have watched him get to balls I thought he had no chance of getting to just by shear heart and will and that's all defense. It doesn't hurt that he is really fast either."
Most Valuable Player was voted on by the team. Parker Heaton earned the award. "Parker is kind of the glue that held things together for this team. He has a high basketball IQ and is able to play any position we might need him in. He can hit shots outside, go inside and bang around. he is also good at breaking bones and thankfully that didn't happen this year."
Will Thorn is the Wildcat Award winner for this year. "I tried to get Will to play in 5th, 6th, and 7th grade and he finally decided to come play this year. The team and coaches are glad he did."
"Will exemplifies everything the Wildcat Awards stands for. he is great in the classroom. he's great in the community and he is going to give everything he has on the court and support his teammates til the end. He is a team first guy, a "we" guy, not a "me" guy. Will worked as hard as anybody and will only get better the more he plays," stated Westbrook.
Middle School Cross Country, Cheerleading, Girls Basketball, Volleyball, and Baseball awards for middle school will spotlighted in separate articles on the ShowMe Times.
