LEWISTON, Idaho – Nominees from Colton, Clarkston, Lapwai and Orofino High School were named the overall winners at the tenth annual Warrior Athletic Association's High School Awards Banquet, held at the Lewis-Clark State College Activity Center on Wednesday night.
 
A crowd of nearly 400 was on hand for the event, which honored outstanding high school athletes, coaches, teams and supporters for their accomplishments during the 2015-16 school year. Twenty-three high schools in southeastern Washington and north central Idaho took part in this year's program.
 
Athletic directors at area high schools are asked each year to nominate a Female and Male Athlete of the Year, a Coach and Team of the Year, and a Meritorious Award winner. All nominees are honored at the banquet with a glass award that bears their name and their school.
 
Prior to Wednesday's banquet, a panel composed of area media members and high school sports enthusiasts selected finalists in each category and selected the overall winners.
 
"Each year there are many success stories in our area high schools of outstanding athletes, coaches, teams and volunteers," Picone said. "We're happy that the High School Awards has become a forum where such stories—which sometimes go relatively unnoticed—are told and celebrated."
 
Colton High School's Zoe Moser was selected as the Female Athlete of the Year. Moser excelled in three sports at Colton High School, volleyball, basketball and softball. She led the volleyball team in kills, and pitched her softball team to victory. It was as a point guard that she dominated. She scored 371 points in a single season, averaged 16.9 points, 2.3 steals and 6.0 assists per contest while also shooting 90 percent from the free throw line. For her success, she earned WIAA 1B All-State accolades in all three of the sports she participated. As the WIAA 1B state player of the year, she furthered her accomplishments by earning the title Co-Player of the Year across all classifications.
 
Academically, Zoe, the 2016 Colton valedictorian, earned a $40,000 scholarship from the National Student Leadership Alumni and was admitted to the University of Washington Honors program.
 
The other finalists for the award were Taylor Whitney of Lapwai and Hailey Danly of Prairie.
 
Dylan Beeler of Clarkston High School took home the Male Athlete of the Year award. Beeler is a phenomenal performer for all three of his arenas: Baseball, Football and Wrestling. As a senior on Clarkston's football team, he caught 39 passes for 440 yards and scored four touchdowns. As a defensive end, he had 55 tackles (26 solo and 29 assists) with 13.5 tackles for loss, 14 sacks (-64 yards), 10 hurries, one interception, one pass defense, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble. With a verified 4.65 40-yard dash time, Beeler earned all-state recognition as a defensive end and All-Great Northern League as a tight end in addition to being on the All-USA Inland Northwest Football Team. Beeler not only exceled in football, but wrestling and baseball as well. With a batting average of .370, Beeler had 34 hits, 22 RBI's, 20 runs and a .885 fielding percentage. Beeler was also a victor of the 2A Class Wrestling Championship, competing at 220 pounds. Beeler is currently competing for the Idaho Vandals on scholarship as a tight end.
 
Other finalists for Male Athlete of the Year included Carter Dahmen of Colton and Jake Bruner of Prairie.
 
The Lapwai High School girls' basketball team received Team of the Year honors. Undefeated in league play, the Lady Wildcats finished their season as league and district champions. They also went on to win the 2A Idaho State Championship. The Lady Wildcats broke many records during their state performance including most points scored in single game (100), most points scored in a state tournament (229), highest scoring average per game (76.3) and most turnovers caused (121). The Lady Wildcats' character and commitment to hard work has created great success.
 
Other team finalists for the award included Clarkston boys' basketball and Genesee softball.
 
Coach of the Year honors went to Justin Jones, who led the Clarkston boys' basketball team to their first ever Boys Basketball 2A State Championship. Jones' Bantams finished 26-1 in league play and won at every level of postseason play. For his success, Jones was also voted the Washington State 2A Coach of the Year.
 
Other finalists were Kelly Thompson (Genesee girls' softball) and Eric Spencer (Lapwai girls' basketball).
 
The final category was the Meritorious Award, which was renamed the Rick Hill Meritorious award after Rick Hill, one of the original WAA board members who helped develop the High School Awards event into what it is today. The award honors a person in the community who has made a difference in athletics at the school. It is based on dedication and a sense of volunteerism, community spirit and length of service.
 
The winner of the Meritorious Award was Earl Vicory of Orofino. Vicory has spent nearly 20 years serving the Orofino School District in just about any capacity imaginable. Known to those from the school as a thoughtful and dedicated person, Vicory volunteer's countless hours working at athletic competitions, running the clock for nearly every basketball game, setting up field, picking up trash, assists in the caring of officials before, during and after games. Whatever Vicory is asked, he does with the most positive attitude and effort. He also served as the manager for basketball team and equipment manager. Vicory has been a fixture at Orofino activities for nearly 20 years, his volunteerism is unsurpassed.
 
The other finalists were Dr. Walter Williams of Asotin, Pat Holthaus of Prairie and Mary and Kyle Nelson of Troy.
 
This year two spirit awards were given to the two schools with the most enthusiastic following in attendance. Judges named Kendrick and Prairie as the winners and they were each awarded a $500 scholarship to Lewis-Clark State College.
 
Wednesday's banquet was hosted by the WAA, the booster organization for LCSC athletics, and was sponsored by a number of local businesses, including major sponsors Lewis & Clark Orthopaedic Institute, Kendall Chevrolet, the Pepsi Bottling Company of Lewiston, and P1FCU.