New Prairie's Ava Geyer wins Tribune 2024 Spring Sports Preseason Player of the Year vote
Congratulations to New Prairie softball junior Ava Geyer on winning the 2024 South Bend Tribune Spring Sports Preseason Athlete of the Year poll. Geyer received more than half the vote amongst the 17 nominees to run away with the win.
Here is more on Geyer, plus the other nominees.
WINNER: New Prairie softball junior Ava Geyer
Geyer went 28-2 with 311 strikeouts as a sophomore pitcher last year, including a six-hitter in the 4-2 Class 3A state title game win over Tri-West Hendricks.
OTHER NOMINEES
Fairfield boys golf junior Brayden Miller
Miller finished sixth at the state finals last year, shooting even-par 144 across the two rounds at Prairie View GC in Carmel. He's committed to the University of Cincinnati.
John Glenn baseball senior Joe Chrapliwy
Chrapliwy was named to the Class 3A all-state team last year after batting .488 with 39 hits, 36 runs scored and 28 RBIs. He also stole 12 bases and recorded a 5-1 record pitching in eight appearances.
LaVille boys track senior Lincoln Hulsey
Hulsey was one of the top individuals in his event last year, finishing third at state in the pole vault with a height of 15 feet.
Mishawaka Marian baseball senior JJ Oliver
Oliver was a 3A all-state selection as a second baseman, batting .386, scoring 41 runs, recording 28 RBIs and stealing a team-high 10 bases. He didn’t commit an error in 46 chances as well.
Penn baseball junior Dawson French
French finished with a 5-2 record with a 1.19 ERA and three saves on the mound last year, including saves in the semistate semifinal and state championship games for the Kingsmen.
Penn softball junior Ava Zachary
The third baseman batted .505 as a sophomore with nine home runs and 45 RBI for the state champion Kingsmen.
Penn softball senior Aubrey Zachary
Zachary was 12-3 in the circle despite, allowing 33 earned runs in 91.2 innings of work with 155 strikeouts her junior season.
Penn girls track senior Mary Eubank
Eubank is the highest returning placer of any area athlete, as she took fifth in the 3,200-meter run at state a season ago with a time of 10:44.19.
Penn boys track senior Elijah Coker
Coker competed in three events at the state finals last year, including a third-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 23-07.75 feet.
Penn boys track junior Kellen Watson
Watson earned a pair of top-10 finishes at state last year, taking fourth individually in the 100-meter dash and 10th as part of the 4x100-meter relay team.
South Bend Adams baseball senior Jake Mulvehill
Mulvehill batted .443 last season, with 14 of his 31 hits being doubles. He scored 27 runs and had 14 RBIs. He also pitched 34 innings, going 3-3 with a 2.82 ERA.
Saint Joseph baseball senior Jayce Lee
Lee batted .398 last year with 39 RBIs and 32 runs scored. He also had 21 stolen bases and just one fielding error.
Saint Joseph softball senior Riley Zache
The older Zache sister batted .537 with 49 runs scored and 48 RBI last season. She also broke her own single season home run record with 11 round trippers and had 17 doubles.
Saint Joseph softball junior Berkley Zache
One of the top softball players in the country for the Class of 2025, Zache is 33-2 in her career with nine earned runs allowed and 513 strikeouts in the pitcher's circle. She's also hit .531 with 46 RBI and nine home runs.
Saint Joseph girls tennis senior Molly Bellia
Bellia was the individual state champion in 2021 and runner-up last year. She's been the No. 1 player for the Huskies the last three years and will be key for them as they look to make the state finals as a team again.
South Bend Washington girls track sophomore Adrianna Swanson
A sectional and regional champion, Swanson capped off her impressive freshman season last year by taking sixth in the 100-meter hurdles at the state finals with a time of 14.53 seconds.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: New Prairie's Ava Geyer wins 2024 Spring Sports Preseason POY vote
