County Athletes of the Week for Jan. 3-16
County Female Athlete of the Week by ShelbyCountySports.com.
Tenaha's Victor Johnson has been named the Shelby County Male
Athlete of the Week. (Photo by John Krueger)
The new year is in full swing and those means high school basketball teams are in the midst of their district title and playoff runs. It also means soccer teams are on their respective fields and getting ready for district play.
Some Shelby County athletes have picked up their games as they head toward the second round of league play as they try to lead their teams to the postseason. Those are athletes that have been recognized as the Shelby County Athletes of the Week for contests played between Jan. 3-16.
When we honor athletes, we try to choose those players that stand out on their squad and try to make a difference on their squad when the games are on the line. These are the athletes we are honoring this week:
Shelby County Male Athlete of the Week - Victor Johnson (Tenaha)
Victor Johnson is taking a bigger role for the Tigers as the season goes on. During the two-week span of Jan. 3-16, Johnson led the Tigers in scoring in one of three games as he helped the Tigers post a 3-0 record. The 5-11 senior forward averaged 18.7-points per contest, scoring a high of 26 points while ripping down 20 boards in a 115-51 win over Gary on Jan. 12. Johnson also had a strong performance against Mount Enterprise on Jan. 5, scoring 19 points while pulling down three rebounds. He scored 11 points in a 96-66 win over Timpson. His efforts resulted in being named the Shelby County Male Athlete of the Week.
Shelby County Female Athlete of the Week - Norma Ruiz (Center)
Soccer season is underway and Center Lady Rider junior Norma Ruiz is already setting the pace for CHS. Ruiz led the Lady Riders to a 3-2 record in their first five games of the season by scoring five goals in those games. She opened the season on Jan. 12 with a 3-goal effort in a 7-0 win over Tenaha. At the Athens Tournament, Ruiz scored a pair of goals. She scored the lone goal in the opening 1-0 victory over Mabank and scored one of the squad's two goals in a 2-0 win over Tatum. She has been named the Shelby County Female Athlete of the Week for her effort during the past two weeks of action.
Individual School Honors
Center Male Athlete of the Week - Jonathan Taldo
Center senior post player Jonathan Taldo has been named the Center High School Male Athlete of the Week for games played between Jan. 2-16. Taldo played in four games during that two-week span, averaging 10.2-points and 10.2 rebounds during those games as he led CHS to a perfect 4-0 record. Taldo scored 12 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in a 59-46 win against Diboll on Jan. 5, seven points and 11 boards in a 42-34 CHS win over Rusk on Jan. 8, 10 points, 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks in a 50-48 victory over Carthage on Jan. 12 and 13 points and six rebounds in a big 61-56 win over Hudson on Jan. 15.
Joaquin Male Athlete of the Week - JaDerrick Norris
Joaquin junior guard JaDerrick Norris has been named the Joaquin Male Athlete of the Week for games played between Jan. 3-16. Norris played in four games over that span, averaging 11 points per game. He had a high of 20 points against Gary on Jan. 20. Norris also tallied eight rebounds, six blocks and 11 steals. He recorded four blocked shots against New Summerfield on Jan. 5 and five steals against Mount Enterprise on Jan. 8 and Timpson on Jan. 12.
Joaquin Female Athlete of the Week - Jaime Raimond
Lady Ram junior post player Jaime Raimond has been named the Joaquin Female Athlete of the Week for games played between Jan. 3-16. Raimond led the Lady Rams in scoring during one of those four games, as four different players led the team in scoring. Raimond scored eight points against New Summerfield on Jan. 5, but had a high of 11 points on Jan. 15 as she led the Lady Rams in scoring against Gary. Raimond also pitched in four points against Timpson on Jan. 12.
Shelbyville Male Athlete of the Week - Nino Cartwright
Nino Cartwright led the Shelbyville Dragons in scoring in two of the team's four games over the two-week span of Jan. 3-16 and has been named the Shelbyville Male Athlete of the Week for his efforts. Cartwright, a 6-0 junior guard, scored 25 points in four games, averaging 6.3 points per game. He scored a high of 12 points on a 56-35 setback to Waskom on Jan. 8. He also scored five points on two occasions, against Karnack on Jan. 5 in a 36-25 Dragon win, and on Jan. 15 in a setback to San Augustine.
Shelbyville Female Athlete of the Week - Camory Bolton
In the span of games between Jan. 3-16, the Shelbyville Lady Dragons were led in scoring by three different players as SHS posted a 1-3 record. Shelbyville 5-6 sophomore forward Camory Bolton led the lady Dragons in scoring in two of those four games. Bolton had a career-high 25 points on Jan. 5 when SHS rolled over Karnack, 96-39. Later during that span of games, Bolton scored a team-high 10 points against San Augustine. For her effort, she has been named as the Shelbyville Female Athlete of the Week.
Tenaha Female Athlete of the Week - Jasmine Ivy
Jasmine Ivy has been a quiet performer for the Tenaha Lady Tigers and her play during three games during the span of Jan. 3-16 has earned her Tenaha Female Player of the Week honors. Ivy, a 5-9 junior post player, averaged 11.7-points per game during that two-week span as she helped the Lady Tigers to an unblemished record of 3-0. She had a team-high 17 points against Gary on Jan. 12 when THS recorded a 53-36 win. On Jan. 8 she scored 10 points in a 42-40 victory over the Lady Bears of Timpson. She also dropped in eight points on Jan. 5 when Tenaha knocked off Mount Enterprise, 48-35.
Timpson Male Athlete of the Week - Marquies Bussey
Bear senior post player Marquies Bussey turned in four impressive performances during a four-game span from Jan. 3-16 and has been named the Timpson Male Athlete of the Week. Bussey was the leading scorer in one game, while coming in second in scoring in the other three games as he averaged 14.5-points per game, scoring 58 points. Bussey scored 27 points against Cushing on Jan. 15, a 62-54 win. He also dropped in 12 points against Gary on Jan. 5 in a 62-59 overtime win and added 10 points against Tenaha on Jan. 8. He also dropped in nine points against Joaquin.
Timpson Female Athlete of the Week - Jakelia Caraway
The Timpson Lady Bears appear to be a better team than their district record. During the two-week span of Jan. 3-16, Timpson posted a 1-3 record, but lost two of those games by a combined 15 points. Timpson's Jakelia Caraway has been a hard worker during the four games for the Lady Bears. She led the team with 10 points against Cushing on Jan. 15 in a 58-28 setback. She also scored 10 points on Jan. 12 against Joaquin as she helped the Lady Bears to a 48-33 triumph. For her efforts during those two weeks Caraway has been named the Timpson Female Athlete of the Week.