UI nabs several North Idaho awards

COEUR D’ALENE — Kendrick quarterback Ty Koepp, the Troy volleyball team and several Idaho Vandals were among the winners announced at the 61st North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame awards Saturday at an annual banquet at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.

The awards honor athletes, coaches and teams from 33 high schools and three colleges in north Idaho.

University of Idaho soccer won the female team of the year for the second straight year. The team finished with a 12-5-2 record (5-2-1 Big Sky) and won the Big Sky title for the first time in school history.

The Vandal football team won male team of the year after one of its best seasons in school history. It finished with a 9-4 record (6-2 Big Sky), won its first playoff game since 1993 and made it to the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

Idaho football coach Jason Eck picked up the college male coach of the year award for the second consecutive year. Eck led the Vandals to victories over then-No. 2 Montana State and No. 4 Sacramento State on the way to a successful season.

Wide receiver Hayden Hatten won the college male athlete of the year award. Hatten finished the season with 94 receptions for 1,231 yards and nine touchdowns. He averaged 94.7 reception yards per game and was a unanimous first-team all-Big Sky selection and a second-team All-American.

Mia Sylvester of Idaho track and field and Callie Stevens of Lewis-Clark State basketball shared the college female athlete of the year award.

Stevens won the award last year and continued to dominate the court this season. She was selected as a second-team NAIA All-American, averaging 17.3 points per game with 102 assists and 55 steals. Stevens was the Cascade Collegiate Conference MVP for the third consecutive year, becoming the first player to do so.

Sylvester broke the school record in the weight throw this winter and won the shot put title at the conference’s outdoor meet last spring. She was named the Big Sky’s field athlete of the week twice.

The Kendrick football team won the Idaho 3A-2A-1A boys team of the year, sharing the award with Bonners Ferry basketball. Kendrick won its third consecutive Idaho 1A DII state championship with an undefeated record of 10-0. The Tigers averaged 70 points per game and posted four shutouts.

Helping lead Kendrick was Koepp, who won the Idaho 3A-2A-1A football player of the year, along with Trey Gibson of St. Maries. Koepp threw for 40 touchdowns for 2,440 yards and rushed for 11 touchdowns, helping the Tigers to their third consecutive state championship and undefeated season. The senior quarterback was the Whitepine League MVP.

Koepp also got the nod for Idaho 3A-2A-1A male athlete of the year. Koepp earned all-league honors in baseball, football and basketball, including the MVP award in football.

In baseball, Koepp hit .473 on the season with 26 runs, seven doubles, four triples and 13 stolen bases. At pitcher he struck out 66 batters and earned second-team all-state honors. In basketball he averaged 10.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game. In football he completed 66% of his passes for 2,440 yards, 40 passing and 11 rushing touchdowns.

The Idaho 5A-4A boys wrestler of the year went to Hoyt Hvass of Lewiston, along with Rider Seguine of Post Falls.

Hvass won his third consecutive 5A state championship, most recently at 132 pounds as a junior with a record of 57-4. He earned his 100th career pin in the semifinals of the state tournament.

The girls wrestler of the year was Lewiston’s Joely Slyter.

Slyter took second place at the state tournament in the 114-pound ranks. She had a record of 45-2 with wins in the Rollie Lane, North Idaho Rumble and Jaybird tournaments.

Troy volleyball won the Idaho 3A-2A-1A girls team of the year. The Trojans won their third consecutive 1A state championship and has won the title five times in the last six years.

Helping lead Troy was the Idaho 3A-2A-1A volleyball player of the year, Jolee Ecklund. Ecklund was a first-team all-state selection and co-MVP of the Whitepine league last season. She helped the Trojans to a Whitepine League state championship.

Two local girls shared the Idaho 3A-2A-1A female athlete of the year award: Hailey Taylor of Kendrick and Mattie Thacker of Grangeville.

Taylor was a first-team all-league selection in three sports and a first-team all-state selection in softball and basketball. She was a second-team all-state selection in volleyball and was co-MVP of the Whitepine League.

In basketball, she was the league MVP and 1A state player of the year. She averaged 11.5 points, four assists, three steals and 1.5 rebounds per game.

Thacker was a first-team all-Central Idaho league selection in softball and basketball. She was second-team all-state in softball as a pitcher, catcher and third baseman. In basketball, she was a first-team all-league selection.

Kase Wynott shared the Idaho 3A-2A-1A boys basketball player of the year with Asher Williams of Bonners Ferry. Wynott is the Idaho all-time leading scorer with 2,962 points. The 6-foot-6 senior averaged 36 points, 2.9 steals and three blocks per game. He was the unanimous selection as the 1A player of the year and won the the Idaho Gatorade player of the year.

Lapwai basketball coach Zach Eastman and Kendrick football coach Zane Hobart both won the Idaho 3A-2A-1A boys coach of the year award. Kendrick basketball coach Ron Ireland was named the Idaho 3A-2A-1A girls coach of the year. He will be retiring after 11 seasons at the helm.

For the second consecutive season, Lewiston’s Dylan Gomez won the boys tennis player of the year.

Lewiston showed out with three more awards for Idaho 5A-4A, including Zoie Kessinger for girls track athlete of the year, James White for boys track athlete of the year and Molley Seibley for girls golfer of the year. Moscow’s Chase Lovell won boys golfer of the year.

Other Idaho 3A-2A-1A award winners included Troy’s Dominic Holden for baseball player of the year; Genesee’s Kendra Meyer for softball player of the year; Brady Cox of Kamiah for boys track athlete of the year; Grangeville’s Madalyn Green for girls basketball player of the year and Bass Myers of Clearwater Valley for boys wrestler of the year.

North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame award winners

SPRING SPORTS

BOYS GOLF

3A-1A

Stephen Paul, Kellogg.

GIRLS GOLF

3A-1A

Braylyn Bayer, Bonners Ferry.

BOYS TENNIS

Dylan Gomez, Lewiston.

GIRLS TENNIS

Caitlin Combs, Coeur d’Alene Charter.

BOYS BASEBALL

5A-4A

Joe DuCoeur, Lake City.

3A-1A

Dominic Holden, Troy.

GIRLS SOFTBALL

5A-4A

Kristine Schmidt, Coeur d’Alene.

3A-1A

Kendra Meyer, Genesee.

GIRLS TRACK

5A-4A

Annastasia Peters, Post Falls.

Zoie Kessinger, Lewiston.

3A-1A

Asha Abubakari, Bonners Ferry.

McKenna Kozeluh, Coeur d’Alene Charter.

BOYS TRACK

5A-4A

Trever Miller, Post Falls.

James White, Lewiston.

Trevor Cogley, Lake City.

3A-1A

Brady Cox, Kamiah.

FALL SPORTS

GIRLS GOLF

5A-4A

Molly Seibley, Lewiston.

BOYS GOLF

5A-4A

Chase Lovell, Moscow.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

Olivia May, Coeur d’Alene.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

Max Cervi-Skinner, Coeur d’Alene

GIRLS SOCCER

Aliya Strock, Sandpoint.

BOYS SOCCER

Jacob Molina, Lake City.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

5A-4A

Kylie Munday, Post Falls.

3A-1A

Jolee Ecklund, Troy.

GIRLS SWIMMING

Makena Mamola, Lakeland.

BOYS SWIMMING

Michael Mamola, Lakeland.

FOOTBALL

5A-4A

Shea Robertson, Coeur d’Alene.

3A-1A

Trey Gibson, St. Maries.

Ty Koepp, Kendrick

GIRLS BASKETBALL

5A-4A

Teagan Colvin, Coeur d’Alene

3A-1A

Madalyn Green, Grangeville.

BOYS BASKETBALL

5A-4A

Logan Orchard, Coeur d’Alene.

3A-1A

Asher Williams, Bonners Ferry

Kase Wynott, Lapwai

BOYS WRESTLING

5A-4A

Rider Seguine, Post Falls.

Hoyt Hvass, Lewiston

3A-2A

Bass Myers, Clearwater Valley

GIRLS WRESTLING

Joely Slyter, Lewiston

BOYS TEAM OF THE YEAR

5A-4A

Coeur d’Alene cross country

3A-1A

Kendrick football

Bonners Ferry basketball

GIRLS TEAM OF THE YEAR

5A-4A

Coeur d’Alene basketball

Sandpoint soccer

3A-1A

Troy volleyball

BOYS COACH OF THE YEAR

5A-4A

Cathy Compton, Coeur d’Alene cross country

3A-1A

Zach Eastman, Lapwai basketball

Zane Hobart, Kendrick football

GIRLS COACH OF THE YEAR

5A-4A

Nicole Symons, Coeur d’Alene basketball

Conor Baranski, Sandpoint soccer

3A-1A

Ron Ireland, Kendrick basketball

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

5A-4A

Kai Wheeler, Coeur d’Alene

Jesse Turner, Sandpoint

3A-1A

Ty Koepp, Kendrick

Trey Bateman, Bonners Ferry

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

5A-4A

Landee Simon, Lakeland

3A-1A

Hailey Taylor, Kendrick

Mattie Thacker, Grangeville

COLLEGE

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Hayden Hatten, UI football

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Mia Sylvester, UI track

Callie Stevens, LCSC basketball

MALE TEAM OF THE YEAR

Idaho football

FEMALE TEAM OF THE YEAR

Idaho soccer

MALE COACH OF THE YEAR

Jason Eck, UI football

FEMALE COACH OF THE YEAR

Brittany Tilleman, NIC volleyball