Spring sports finalists, Lifetime Achievement winner announced for the 2019 Semoball Awards

In this May 20, Chaffee's Breven Yarbro (6) throws from the mound during the Chaffee Red Devils' 9-2 victory over the Valle Catholic. Yarbro is one of two repeat finalists in the baseball category. The 45 spring sports finalists, plus 13 finalists in other categories, were revealed Tuesday.

Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian

The list of Semoball Awards finalists is complete.

In Tuesday's selection show streamed exclusively on Facebook, the 45 spring sport finalists were revealed, along with the Lifetime Achievement Award winner, 13 nominees in Coach of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year and Best of Sportsmanship.

The 2019 Semoball Awards, presented by SoutheastHEALTH, will be held July 13 at Southeast Missouri State's River Campus. One winner already has been revealed ahead of the sixth annual event. Paul Hale, a longtime boys basketball coach in the area, will receive the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award. Hale won the 2008 Class 4 state championship at Notre Dame and then stepped down from coaching with 573 career wins.

Former area high school basketball coach Paul Hale, who finished with 573 wins and led Notre Dame Regional High School to the Class 4 state title in 2008, will receive the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sixth Annual Semoball Awards on July 13.

Southeast Missourian file

Hale also coached at Dexter and Bernie, where he won 260 games from 1985 to 1995. Hale played basketball at Scott County Central, and in 2011 SCC retired his No. 25 jersey.

Hale's award was announced Tuesday, but for the rest of the categories, only the eligible finalists were revealed. Winners will be announced at the July 13 event.

The Semoball Awards finalists are selected by SEMO ESPN Radio and the five area newspapers — the Southeast Missourian, The Delta Dunklin Democrat, the Dexter Statesman, the Sikeston Standard-Democrat, the Daily American Statesman.

Finalists were announced in boys tennis, baseball, girls soccer, boys track and field, girls track and field, golf and softball. The softball category combines players from the fall and spring seasons.

Leading the list of spring sports finalists was Notre Dame's Riley Burger. The two-time reigning Semoball Awards girls track and field winner is once again in the running in girls track and field after winning Class 4 state titles in the triple jump and long jump. She is also a finalist in softball after earning Class 3 all-state honors in the fall.

Chaffee senior Breven Yarbro and Sikeston senior Nate Self are repeat finalists in baseball, along with Cape Central's Devon Tiemann, Poplar Bluff's Ben Stewart, Dexter's Eric Hahn and Sikeston's Warren Chinwuko in boys tennis.

Notre Dame senior Megan Heisserer, the 2017 winner, Jackson senior Mik Liley and Saxony Lutheran junior Emma Brune are back in girls soccer, while Burger and teammate Carly Pujol are the two repeat finalists in girls track and field.

Bernie junior Alyson Marcum and Scott City senior Kaileigh Dirden return as finalists in softball.

Dayna Powell (Cape Girardeau Central boys and girls swimming and diving) is the sole returner in the Coach of the Year category after guiding the Tiger boys to a third consecutive state title.

The Comeback Player of the Year finalists are full of inspiring stories, from Dexter junior Ryder Boles overcoming cancer this past summer to play junior-varsity basketball and varsity tennis to Scout Pettit recovering from being hit by a car on Feb. 1 to advance out of districts in Class 5 track and field this May. Poplar Bluff baseball's Noah Burkey also came back from a concussion, Alexis Allstun was a key piece for the Jackson girls basketball team a year after tearing her ACL, and Darcy Campbell overcame a poisonous spider bite on her leg to be the No. 2 singles player for Kennett girls tennis. She had to have dead tissue surgically removed due to the size of the spider bite and played the entire season with a medicated silver bandage covering the opening in her leg.

Best in Sportsmanship has three deserving finalists. Shortly after the passing of Tom Hoover, a longtime Poplar Bluff educator and supporter of athletics, Sikeston football honored his memory before a game.

This spring, Notre Dame baseball donated proceeds from their home game against Cape Central baseball to the Terry W. Kitchen Male Athlete Scholarship fund. Kitchen was a longtime coach for Central baseball and later athletic director at the high school and junior high and received the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award. The Tigers were coached by his son, Tatum.

St. Vincent football is also a finalist after the SEMO Football Officials Association gave the Indians the 2018 Sportsmanship award.

The Semoball Awards will feature keynote speaker Rick Horton, a former St. Louis Cardinal and current broadcaster for the team.

Tickets for the event are on sale now. Go to semoball.com/awards to purchase tickets or get more information about the event.

The Semoball Awards are supported by title sponsors SEMO ESPN Radio, the St. Louis Cardinals, rustmedia, along with bank sponsor The Bank of Missouri and title sponsor SoutheastHEALTH

BASEBALL

Breven Yarbro, Chaffee

Dawson Treat, Cooter

Jake Eddington, Doniphan

Cameron Brewer, Ellington

Kaleb Richards, Ellington

Landon Hahn, Jackson

Jared Crafton, Portageville

Kam Dohogne, Notre Dame

Hunter Bilek, Saxony Lutheran

Nate Self, Sikeston

BOYS TENNIS

Devon Tiemann, Cape Central

Eric Hahn, Dexter

Nate Gargas, Dexter

Ben Stewart, Poplar Bluff

Warren Chinwuko, Sikeston

BOYS TRACK AND FIELD

Austin Guy, Dexter

Jack Rinehart, Jackson

Aaron Brown, Jackson

Issac Faire, Kelly

Tylor Wooden, Hayti

GIRLS SOCCER

Mik Liley, Jackson

Megan Heisserer, Notre Dame

Abby Wilson, Notre Dame

Leah Buerck, Perryville

Emma Brune, Saxony Lutheran

GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD

Keara Johnson, Caruthersville

Makenzie Williams, East Prairie

Erin Huff, Jackson

Riley Burger, Notre Dame

Carly Pujol, Notre Dame

GOLF

Case Englehart, Jackson

Carsen Silliman, Jackson

Tanner Walton, Jackson

Dylan Sitze, Dexter

Spencer Warren, Dexter

SOFTBALL

Alyson Marcum, Bernie

Madeline Hendrix, Chaffee

Kaylee Davis, Doniphan

Makenna Moore, East Carter

Lilly Jones, Kelly

Anelle Harris, Kennett

Hope Hartman, Malden

Riley Burger, Notre Dame

Kaylee Payne, Oran

Bailey Burns, Puxico

Kaileigh Dirden, Scott City

COACH OF THE YEAR

Dayna Powell, Cape Central swimming and diving

Dominique Robinson, Hayti football

Erin Hoffman, Advance volleyball

Zack Walton, Jackson boys golf

Jake Hime, Ellington baseball

COMEBACK OF THE YEAR

Ryder Boles, Dexter

Alexis Allstun, Jackson

Scout Pettit, Jackson

Noah Burkey, Poplar Bluff

Darcy Campbell, Kennett

BEST OF SPORTSMANSHIP

Notre Dame baseball

Sikeston football

St. Vincent football

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Darcy Campbell's singles position for Kennett girls tennis. She was the No. 2 player. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.

Editor's note: Due to a statistical omission by Semoball, East Carter's Makenna Moore was not initially considered as a softball finalist. Semoball acknowledges the error made and has added Moore to the list of softball finalists.