Daily Memphian postseason golf awards: Anna Heck, Luke Sienkiewicz take top honors
Anna Heck from St. Agnes is the Girls golfer of the year. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian file)
Here are the Daily Memphian girls and boys golfers of the year, coaches of the year and all-metro teams for the 2020 season.
The winners were selected based on regular-season and postseason performance — with extra emphasis given to the latter — and were made in consultation with area coaches and officials.
Girls golfer of the year
Anna Heck, St. Agnes, sophomore: Heck was consistently strong throughout the season, with an early highlight coming at the Sandra Pitts Invitationals in September, where she shot 7-under 65 to capture the title. She shot 2-over 74 to win the Division 2-AA West Region championship at Timber Truss, finishing nine strokes ahead of her nearest competitor.
Heck closed her season with rounds of 69 and 73 at the state tournament, finishing one shot behind the winner, Kynadie Adams of Pope John Paul II. Heck was a finalist for golfer of the year in 2019 and is the younger sister of last year’s winner, Rachel, now a freshman at Stanford.
Girls golfer of the year finalists
Anna Claire Bridge, Collierville, senior; Sophie Christopher, Houston, freshman; Ella Cress, Northpoint, junior; Carla Kay Hickam, Northpoint, senior.
All-metro team
Hana Barber, St. Mary’s, eighth grade; Cecily Berry, Collierville, senior; Anna Claire Bridge, Collierville, senior; Sophie Christopher, Houston, freshman; Ella Cress, Northpoint, junior; Grace Denegri, St. Agnes, freshman; Mary Griffith, Bartlett, freshman; Arabella Hall, Hutchison, sophomore; Selby Haney, St. Agnes, freshman; Anna Heck, St. Agnes, sophomore; Carla Kay Hickam, Northpoint, senior; Claire Hollingsworth, St. Benedict, freshman; Morgan Simmons, Hutchison, sophomore; Claire Todd, ECS, eighth grade; Kimberly Tsai, Houston, senior.
Coach of the year
Brian Stephens, Northpoint: In addition to helping develop the games of two of the top players in town, Stephens also guided the Trojans to a second-place finish in the Division 2-A team competition this season. Ella Cress (second) and Carla Kay Hickam (tied for seventh) had strong tournaments as Northpoint finished 10 strokes behind Franklin Road Academy.
Boys golfer of the year
Luke Sienkiewicz of ECS is the boys golfer of the year. (File photo)
Luke Sienkiewicz, ECS, junior: Sienkiewicz put himself on the map in 2020, starting with a 3-under 69 to tie for first place at the Ronnie Wenzler Invitational in September. Then he shot 4-under 68 to capture the Division 2-A West Region championship.
But Sienkiewicz saved his best for last as he carded rounds of 71 and 74 to finish runner-up at the state tournament, three strokes behind champion Kaleb Wilson of Christian Academy of Knoxville. Sienkiewicz’s performance also helped ECS finish second in the team competition.
Golfer of the year finalists
Austin Bibb, MUS, freshman; Jackson McCommon, Houston, junior; Matt Nicell, Houston, senior; Drew Oxley, CBHS, senior.
All-metro team
Austin Bibb, MUS, freshman; Tyler Boshaw, Collierville, senior; Jack Clarke, CBHS, freshman; Kaiser Godinez, Collierville, freshman; Brooks Habans, CBHS, senior; Cole Koslo, Briarcrest, sophomore; Jackson McCommon, Houston, junior; R.J. Neal, MUS, freshman; Matt Nicell, Houston, senior; Brown Nickey, MUS, sophomore; Zach Olsen, Houston, freshman; Drew Oxley, CBHS, senior; Will Porter, ECS, junior; Luke Sienkiewicz, ECS, junior; Rivers Veazey, ECS, junior.
Coach of the year
Alex Snyder, ECS: After guiding the Eagles to first place at the Division 2-A West Region championship, Snyder’s senior-less team finished second at state. It was an impressive 37-stroke improvement over their sixth-place finish in 2019 and came thanks to two golfers finishing in the top 10, runner-up Luke Sienkiewicz and Rivers Veazey, who tied for sixth.
Topics
TSSAA High School Golf St. Agnes ECS Anna Heck Luke Sienkiewicz All-metro Brian Stephens Alex SnyderJohn Varlas
John Varlas is a lifelong Memphian who has covered high school sports in various capacities for over 20 years.
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