(KJCCC) March 31, 2021 – Big-time plays and days by our conference athletes that lead to recognition in Week 10 of the KJCCC Athletes of the Week voting.

Football Athlete of the Week
OFFENSE
Tavion Thomas – Independence
Pirate running back Tavion Thomas accounted for 211 all–purpose yards all four touchdowns as the No. 7 Pirates defeated No. 7 Butler 31-24. Thomas has 18 carries for 196 yards and three touchdowns. He also accounted for two receptions for eight yards and a touchdown.

DEFENSE
Quae Drake - Butler
Quae Drake, sophomore outside linebacker from Wadley, AL, was all over the field Friday night totaling 10 tackles. He had half a quarterback sack, a pass breakup a fumble recovery and an interception which he returned for 25 yards. Drake came up with big plays late in the game giving Butler a chance at a comeback that ended up coming a score short.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Stefan Forbes - Independence
Stephan Forbes averaged 43.9 yards on 5 punts with five inside the 20 to power the No. 9 Independence Pirates to a 21-24 win over No. 7 Butler.

Division II Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week
Johnson County sophomore guard Jaylen Townsend helped the No. 1 ranked Lady Cavaliers improve to 17-0 with a pair of conference wins last week. She averaged 19.5 points 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals over those two victories.  She also shot 52 percent from the field, including 56 percent from 3-point range. She was 4-for-4 from the line. She opened the week with a career-best 25 points in an 88-38 win over Hesston. She hit 11-of-14 shots with 3-of-4 beyond the arc. She followed with 14 points in a 58-37 win at Highland.

Division II Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week
Labette sophomore guard Bryson Dennis had two big performances in conference play last week. First, he helped lead the Cardinals to a 76-58 win over No. 11 Fort Scott. He scored a season-high 30 points, hitting 9-of-16 shots, with four 3-pointers, and 8-of-9 free throws. He also had four rebounds, three assists at a season-high five steals. He closed out the week with 14 points and seven boards in a three-point overtime loss at Kansas City Kansas.

Division I Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week
Seward County sophomore forward Sierra Morrow provided two double-doubles last week and helped the Lady Saints go perfect 3-0 on the week. Morrow averaged 20 points, shot 42% from the field, 8.6 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game. She started the week with 20 points and 12 rebounds, followed by 14 points and three rebounds against Garden City, and ended the week with another double-double 26 points and 11 rebounds. Morrow continues to provide the Lady Saints with explosive performances week after week.

Division I Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week
Mike Marsh - Dodge City
Dodge City center Mike Marsh recorded back-to-back double-doubles for the first time all season. In two wins last week, Marsh averaged 24.5 points per game to go with 11.5 rebounds while shooting 72 percent from the floor. The sophomore also averaged 4.0 offensive rebounds per game to go with 1.5 blocks per game.

Division I Volleyball Athletes of the Week
Offense: Carol Melo (Barton)
Carol Melo's all-around play led a balanced Barton attack this week.  Averaging two kills per set with a pair of double-digit successes on a .312 attack, Melo added a service ace, as well as, a defensive effort of 14 blocks and 17 digs.

Setter: Isabella Guedes (Barton)
Isabella Guedes helped lead the Cougars to a pair of wins, tallying 77 assists in the 6-2 scheme and serving up a service ace.  Guedes' recorded her eighth and ninth double-doubles of the year in a pair of road victories over Colby and Dodge City. 

Defense: Hanna Miller (Barton)
Hanna Miller led the back line for the Cougars, recording five digs per set including a career high 38 in Thursday's road victory at Dodge City.

Division II Volleyball Athletes of the Week
KJCCC Division II Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Iva Halacheva, Cowley College Sophomore Outside Hitter, Plovdiv, Bulgaria - Iva Halacheva recorded her 10^th and 11^th double-doubles on the season as she finished with 21 kills and 10 digs in a win against Coffeyville and added another 21 kills and 10 digs in a victory over Labette. She finished the week with 56 kills and a .300 hitting percentage as Cowley went 3-0.

KJCCC Division II Volleyball Setter of the Week
Kallie Fenscke, Johnson County Sophomore Setter, Broken Arrow, OK - Johnson County sophomore setter Kallie Fenscke tallied 75 assists and averaged 6.8 assists-per-set over three victories last week, helping the fifth-ranked Lady Cavaliers secure the 2020-21 KJCCC D-II championship. Fenscke had her best match as a college player in JCCC's 3-1 win over Allen to open the week. She established a new career high for assists with 40, two better than her previous high of 38 against Kirkwood last season.  

KJCCC Division II Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week
Makenzie Griffel, Johnson County Sophomore Libero, Blue Springs, MO - Johnson County sophomore libero Makenzie Griffel tallied 42 digs and had zero serve receptions errors over three victories last week, helping the fifth-ranked Lady Cavaliers secure the 2020-21 KJCCC D-II championship. For the season, she has registered 388 total digs which ranks fourth in the Kansas Jayhawk D-II Conference. Her 4.85 digs-per-set average also ranks fourth.

Division I Softball Athletes of the Week
Player: Shayna Espy (Butler CC)
Shayna Espy, sophomore centerfielder from Olathe, KS, went 11-14 at the plate for a batting average of .786 last week in the Grizzlies four road wins. Espy scored six runs, drove in 11 RBI's had three doubles and three triples in her four games played. Espy didn't strike out last week, was walked once and stole three bags. Espy leads Butler in stolen bases (19) this season and has a team high five triples on the year. Espy is hitting .604 on the year with a 1.075 slugging average. 

Pitcher: Tara Reid (Garden City CC)
Tara Reid earned 2 of 4 wins this week in the circle for GCCC and helped close out the second game against Barton earning the save. In 12 innings pitched she allowed 2 earned runs while striking out 8 and walking 2 batters, for a combined ERA of 1.4 for last week.

Division II Softball Athletes of the Week
KJCCC Division II Softball Player of the Week
Kimberlin Hopson, Hesston College Freshman Third Base/Catcher, Sanger, TX - Hesston College freshman Kimberlin Hopson posted a .428 batting average on the week as she also hit two home runs. She led the Larks to victory versus Cowley College as she had a double and a two-run walk-off home run in game two. 

KJCCC Division II Softball Pitcher of the Week
Morgan Lindsay, Johnson County Freshman Pitcher, Bonner Springs, KS - Johnson County freshman right-handed pitcher Morgan Lindsay got her first start in the circle this season and came up big, shutting down Cloud County in a 13-0 win. She allowed just two singles and struck out two batters for the complete-game shutout.

Baseball Athlete of the Week
Hutchinson Blue Dragon sophomore Will Reetz hit safely in all six games last week and hit .579 (11 for 19) with a .789 slugging percentage and .609 on-base percentage. Reetz had 4 multi-hit games, including a 3 for 3 outing with a home run and two RBIs in a Game 1 victory over Butler. Reetz is currently on an eight-game hitting streak. He is hitting .434 for the season.

Johnson County right-hand pitcher Mikal Ashley held Baker to just one hit while striking out 10 Wildcats over five innings to help power the Cavaliers to a 14-0 win and up the team's season mark to 23-0. The victory improved Ashley's season record to 4-0. He leads the team with 35 strikeouts over 19.2 innings pitched. His 35 strikeouts rank third in the conference, and his 4 wins tied for second.