NCHSAA ATHLETES OF THE YEAR NAMED AT ANNUAL MEETING
   
    CHAPEL HILL ---  Two Burke County athletes, Ali Ford of Morganton Freedom High School and Tyler Shatley of East Burke High School, have been named winners of the 2009 Athlete of the Year awards by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA).
   
    These are the top athletic awards given by the NCHSAA to honor the most outstanding male and female high school athletes in the state. They were presented at the Dean E, Smith Center on the University of North Carolina campus during the NCHSAA's Annual Meeting on Thursday.

    Both of the winners were selected by a special panel of media representatives from across the state. They were each presented with the Pat Best Memorial Trophy, named for the former Goldsboro High principal and president of the NCHSAA who died unexpectedly in 1988.

    "We congratulate these fine student-athletes on their great achievements during their high school careers," said Charlie Adams, executive director of the NCHSAA. "Both have tremendously impressive credentials along the lines of the previous outstanding winners of this award, and we certainly wish them the best in the future."

Shatley is a tremendous three-sport athlete, excelling in football, wrestling and track.
 
In football, he was a star who was the 2008 Northwestern Conference Player of the Year as a fullback, defensive lineman and punter. During the 2008 campaign he rushed for 792 yards and scored 18 touchdowns while recording 51 tackles and three sacks. The team captain also punted for better than a 40-yard average. He was named to several all-star teams in that sport and played in the Shrine Bowl.

In wrestling, he was a two-time Northwestern Conference champion and Western Regional champion and was the state runner-up in the heavyweight classification in both 2008 and 2009. He had a record of 34-1 with 29 pins this season and was 38-1 in the 2007-08 year.

He is currently competing in track and field, but Shatley is the defending state champion in the shot put and set an East Burke school record last year with a toss of 58 feet, 1 inch. He was fifth in the state in the discus in 2008 as well. A stellar student who is a member of the National Honor Society with a 4.58 weighted grade point average, he will attend Clemson University next year on a football scholarship.

Ford has had a remarkable high school career, earning an amazing 18 varsity letters and 12 all-conference recognitions. She has participated in three varsity sports for four years each, including golf, basketball and softball, ran cross-country three years while playing tennis for two seasons and running track as a freshman. She has played five sports during her senior year.

She played in the women’s golf state championships all four years at Freedom and was runner-up for the conference player of the year honor in that sport. In basketball she earned the Northwestern Conference Player of the Year award this year and finished her career with 2,502 points, seventh best all-time in the NCHSAA in the five-player game. She also hit 286 three-point field goals during her career, the fifth best mark all-time.  Ali was chosen to play in the North Carolina-South Carolina all-star game in Myrtle Beach, where she won the three-point competition and set a new game assist record.

In softball, she was runner-up for the league player of the year award last year and will be a four-time all-conference, all-district and all-region selection. She is an outstanding shortstop who is also one of her team’s top hitters. Ford has signed a basketball grant-in-aid with Elon University.
   
    This is the 24th year in which awards have been given to the top overall male and female athletes.  Previous winners of the award include:

NCHSAA ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
Winners of the Pat Best Memorial Trophy

    Female        Male
1985-86    Pam Doggett, Dudley        Patrick Lennon, Whiteville
1986-87        Andrea Stinson, North Mecklenburg        Robert Siler, Jordan-Matthews
1987-88    LeAnn Kennedy, Trinity        Chester McGlockton, Whiteville
1988-89    Danyel Parker, Clinton        Ethan Albright, Grimsley
1989-90    Karen Davis, Forbush        David Inman, Terry Sanford
1990-91    Christy Cagle, Hayesville        Mike Kendall, Albemarle
1991-92    Wendy Palmer, Person         Rusty LaRue, Northwest Guilford
1992-93    Holly Hill, Southwestern Randolph        Tyrone Westmoreland, South Iredell
1993-94    Jamie Parsons, Millbrook        Brian Roseboro, T.Wingate Andrews
1994-95    Aedrin Murray, Chatham Central        Na Brown, Reidsville
1995-96    Shea Ralph, Terry Sanford        Titcus Pettigrew, West Forsyth
1996-97    Jackie Houston, Kings Mountain        Tyrell Godwin, East Bladen
1997-98    Clifeteana McKiver, East Duplin         Julius Peppers, Southern Nash
1998-99    Anna Tharrington, Southern Nash        Nick Maddox, A.L. Brown
1999-2000    Courtney Willis, Terry Sanford        Manny DeShauteurs, Brevard
2000-01    Molly Pyles, Hendersonville        Derrele Mitchell, R.J. Reynolds
2001-02    Katrelle Armwood, Durham School of Arts        A.J. Davis, Northern Durham
2002-03    Anna Evans, Lumberton        Drew Williamson, Cummings
2003-04    Eva Baucom, Forest Hills        Jim Ollis, Polk County
2004-05    Jessie Sims, West Henderson        Terrell Hudgins, Rocky Mount
2005-06    Megan Zullo, Farmville Central        Kendric Burney, Southwest Onslow
2006-07    Gabby Mayo, Southeast Raleigh        Dee Bost, Concord
2007-08    Jannetta Robinson, Pender        E.J. Abrams-Ward, Thomasville
2008-09    Ali Ford, Freedom        Tyler Shatley, East Burke

    About 150,000 athletes compete in the NCHSAA's 21-sport program.

CONTACT: Rick Strunk (919/962-7786)
DATE:       May 7, 2009