It was a joy to see many of our best local athletes recognized at The Advocate’s 2023 Star of Stars awards ceremony. I use the word many because the variety and quality of the competition in our area makes singling out individual athletes, coaches and teams an incredibly difficult thing to do.
For example, there was Holden’s Taylor Douglas, a pitcher and feared hitter in softball, and also a force in powerlifting. Douglas was one of three finalists for the girls Athlete of the Year award, and her credentials backed up the nomination.
Douglas had a .623 batting average, was second in the state with 24 home runs and had 63 RBIs. In the circle, she had 158 strikeouts in 162⅓ innings. Oh, and she also placed third in her weight class at the LHSAA Division IV powerlifting meet.
“I was excited to be here,” Douglas said after the ceremony. “I go to a small school and just being able to be a part of this is amazing. Even if I didn’t win, I was happy to be nominated.”
The other finalists, track and powerlifting standout Jaydan Jackson of Zachary and softball’s Addison Jackson of St. Amant, had equally impressive résumés. Choosing between the three came down to splitting hairs, and it was Jackson that took the award home.
Douglas, who won multiple Class B player of the year honors, was a huge part of Holden’s amazing run of five consecutive Class B softball titles that ended this season. She will have plenty of memories to bring with her next year, when she continues her softball career at Nicholls State.
“I knew this season would be my last time wearing purple, and I just tried to make the most of it,” Douglas said. “Everything comes to an end, and sometimes it’s out of your control. You can work as hard as you can, you can play as hard as you can, but sometimes the ball doesn’t roll your way.”
Walker gymnast Midboe honored
Walker senior gymnast Cody Midboe was named as The Advocate’s Star of Stars honoree for boys gymnastics.
Player of the year Cody Midboe, Gymnastics/Walker, poses with special guest speaker Seimone Augustus during the Advocate’s 37th Star of Stars High School Sports Awards at the L’Auberge Event Center on Monday, May 22 in Baton Rouge.
He was the LHSAA’s Level 10 all-around champion for the second consecutive year with a score of 73.000. Midboe, whose top event is the floor exercise, recently signed with Simpson College of Indianola, Iowa. Despite the popularity of girls gymnastics, Midboe had to look north to continue his career since the nearest boys college program was at the University of Oklahoma.
Priester named All-MACCC
Former Live Oak High catcher Blaise Priester was named first team all-MACCC (Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference) after his freshman season at Meridian Community College. In 40 games, Priester hit .379 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs, and helped the Eagles go 38-12 after a berth in the NJCAA Region 23 tournament.
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