Winters, Heisserer take home SoutheastHEALTH Athlete of the Year Awards

Monday, July 15, 2019

Flashbulbs and excitement were in heavy supply as student-athletes from Southeast Missouri were honored for their achievements Saturday at the biggest sports awards show in the region.

The Sixth Annual Semoball Awards were presented by SoutheastHEALTH and title sponsors: The Bank of Missouri (Official Bank Sponsor), SEMO ESPN Radio, St. Louis Cardinals and rustmedia.

The event honored more than 120 athletes from over 50 schools in 25 different categories.

However, two athletes were a notch above the rest.

Hayti’s Ivory Winters and Megan Heisserer from Notre Dame took home the top individual honors as the SoutheastHEALTH Male and Female Athletes of the Year.

Winters had a monster senior season in 2018 and the now-freshman at Indiana University was not able to attend Saturday due to college commitments. Hayti football coach Dominique Robinson accepted the award in Winters’ place.

“Ivory has worked so hard and did everything the right way,” Robinson said. “He’s a workhorse and it’s paid dividends for him. We were able to put up video game numbers with him and our offensive line.”

The Hudson Chiropractic Football Offensive Player of the Year ran for 2,786 yards and had 59 touchdowns in leading the Indians to an undefeated season and their first-ever state championship.

He also was named as the Class 1 Missouri Player of the Year.

Aside from the gridiron, he also excelled in basketball and track.

His 18 points and 10 boards a game earned him Bootheel Conference Player of the Year honors, while on the track Winters finished fifth in the state in the 200 meters and was a part of a state champion 400-meter relay.

Winters’ success played a big part in Hayti earning the 2019 Semoball Cup honor.

In the case of Heisserer, she was about as good as it gets on the soccer field.

The do-it-all forward scored 54 goals to go along with 29 assists and 137 points in leading Notre Dame to its second state championship in three years.

The Southeast Missouri State signee was also named 2019 Class 2 Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Heisserer received the Semoball Award for Girls Soccer in 2017 and 2019 and upon hearing her name the four-time Class 2 all-state selection admitted she was pretty nervous.

“This is just exciting and great to be honored for the award,” Heisserer said. “It’s a good way to go out. There were so many deserving athletes that could’ve won and to be chosen is such an awesome feeling.”

The newest Redhawk forward not only was honored for soccer and being the top athlete overall but was also honored for her work away from the field in being named The Bank of Missouri Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

“It’s just humbling to receive this because it’s tough to balance (school and athletics) at times,” she said. “This is a true testament of hard work in the classroom as well because it’s important.”

Notre Dame seniors Julia Williams, right, Kristen Tarno, Livia Wunderlich, Megan Heisserer, and other Notre Dame seniors lift the Class 2 championship trophy Thursday, May 30, 2019, at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Mo. The Bulldogs took down Visitation Academy 4-0 for the title.