Emanuel named state's top female athleteby Nathan Arneal Two Sundays ago, Kaitlyn Emanuel received a phone call from a number she didn’t recognize. She almost didn’t take the call from the strange number because who does that? But something made her answer this call. On the other end was sportswriter Mike Patterson informing her that she was going to be the Omaha World-Herald’s Girls Athlete of the Year.
The announcement with an article and photos ran in Saturday’s [June 10, 2023] World-Herald. Recent winners include Fremont’s Taylor McCabe, who played on Iowa’s NCAA runner-up basketball team, Jordyn Bahl of Papillion-La Vista, who was the MVP of Oklahoma softball’s national championship this month, and three-time winner Kalynn Meyer of Superior, who played volleyball and now track at Nebraska. “It’s like, oh, wow, I can’t believe that I’m – not at the same level, but you know – my name is up there with theirs,” Emanuel said. “To me that’s really just crazy.” Emanuel is the first athlete from North Bend Central to win the award. She is the third athlete to win it from the East Husker Conference after the EHC swept the boys and girls awards in 2013 with Alyssa Frauendorfer from Humphrey and Nathan Bazata of Howells-Dodge. The OWH boys athlete of the year has been handed out since 1951, with Tom Osborne, Johnny Rogers, Jim Hartung and Alex Gordon among its recipients. The girls award has been around since 1976. Emanuel said this award is not only special because it included all athletes in the state from all classes, but because it rewards well-rounded, multi-sport athletes. “Some people only do one sport and they get those one-sport awards,” she said. “But being from a small town, being involved in everything is super important. When we get recognized for that, I think it’s awesome.” While her playing career is over, she still involved in sports. Emanuel and her sister Sydney – herself a two-time all-stater – are currently running basketball clinics for third through eighth graders in the shop and court on their family farm. “We were like, coming off four state championships, why not give it a shot and see what kind of participation we get?” Kaitlyn Emanuel said. “It’s gone really well. We’ve had pretty good numbers and I think the kids have enjoyed it. I’ve definitely enjoyed seeing them improve.” Read the full story in the print or e-edition. <<Back to the front page |
