MAAC announces winners at WNC Sports Awards banquet

Asheville — (WLOS) The Mountain Amateur Athletics Club hosted its 62nd annual awards banquet Sunday night (May 19) at the Grove Park Inn as the club honored the top high school student-athletes from Western North Carolina for the past year.

It was a big night for the Robbinsville athletic program as it had three individuals capture five awards.

Robbinsville wrestler Kage Williams and Robbinsville softball standout Zoie Shuler each took home two awards on the night. Football player Cuttler Adams earned the Division II Male Athlete for a Major Sport.

The Riley Howell Courage Award was presented to Brevard boys basketball coach Paul Whitt. The award is named after Roberson the Roberson graduate who saved lives with during a mass shooting at UNC Charlotte in 2019.

The Keith Jarrett Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Quinn Roberts of Roberson. Jarrett was a legendary sportswriter for the Asheville Citizen-Times from 1986-2015 before passing away in 2021. The scholarship goes to a student-athlete interested in journalism.

The Pat Ryan Memorial Scholarship went to Henry Stuart of Christ School. Ryan was a sports talk show host for close to 20 years at Asheville Media Group before passing away in 2022. His scholarship is awarded to a student-athlete interested in radio or television journalism.

Lana Foster of Hayesville was tapped with the Special Olympics Award.

Here are the winners in each category:

Wells Fargo Advisors/Aiken, Meyer Whatley Division II Female Athlete Major Sport: Zoie Shuler (Robbinsville).

Northwestern Mutual/Carole Martin Division II Female Athlete Olympic Sport: Virginia Thorsen (Asheville School).

Homewood Suites Division II Female Team Major Sport: Cherokee Basketball.

Mills Manufacturing Division II Female Team Olympic Sport: Hendersonville Tennis.

Nicole and Kyte Ferrell Division II Male Athlete Major Sport: Cuttler Adams (Robbinsville).

Tara and Frank Burdette Division II Male Athlete Olympic Sport: Kage Williams (Robbinsville).

Fields Auto Group Division II Male Team Major Sport: Christ School Basketball.

Blue Ridge Division of EmergeOrtho Division II Male Olympic Sport: Robbinsville Wrestling.

Ann Brandis Division I Female Athlete Major Sport: Marianne Maxon (West Henderson)

First Citizens Bank Division I Female Athlete Olympic Sport: Emma Hall (West Henderson)

HomeTrust Bank Division I Female Team Major Sport: Reynolds Basketball.

Nat & Carolyn Arthur Division I Female Team Olympic Sport: Franklin Outdoor Track and Field.

Goforth Builders Inc., Division I Male Athlete Major Sport: Jackson Lyda (West Henderson).

Massasoit of North Carolina, Inc., Division I Male Athlete Olympic Sport: Elijah Cochran (Franklin)

McKinney Insurance Services Division I Male Team Major Sport: Roberson Baseball & West Henderson Baseball.

Rodeway Inn & Suites Division I Male Team Olympic Sport: Franklin Outdoor Track and Field.

Paramount Kia Division II Female Academic Award: Lily Fender (Mountain Heritage).

Blue Ridge Imaging Technologies Division I Female Academic Award: Katie Johnson (North Buncombe).

Heath & Nikol Shuler Division II Male Academic Award: Josiah LaNave (Chase).

Allen Tate/Beverly Hanks Realty Division I Male Academic Award: Evan Byrd (Pisgah).

Apollo Flame Division II Female Athlete of the Year: Zoie Shuler (Robbinsville).

Young Transportation Division II Male Athlete of the Year: Kage Williams (Robbinsville).

Lary & Jan Schulhof Division I Female Athlete of the Year: Tori Ensley (Franklin)

Henry Logan Division I Male Athlete of the Year: Truitt Manuel (West Henderson)

The following student-athletes were awarded academic scholarships of $1,500: Eden Barnwell (North Buncombe); Elijah Cochran (Franklin); Emmy Everhardt (Swain); Memory Frapp (Robbinsville); Carson Heath (Roberson); Joshua Hernandez-Gomez (Andrews); Laura Holland (Franklin); Lydia Holland (Franklin); Aaron Jennings (Franklin); Connor Lambert (Swain); Avery Mays (North Buncombe); Bodhi McCormack (Enka); Avery Moffitt (Franklin); Nancy Perez Ortega (North Henderson); Quinn Roberts (Roberson); Hope Smith (Franklin); Henry Stuart (Christ School); Connor Warren (Mitchell); Anna Wilcox (Reynolds); Kage Williams (Robbinsville).