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Nevada High trio collects prestigious athlete of the year awards
JOPLIN, Mo. — A banner year for Nevada High School student-athletes was punctuated at the 2nd Annual Joplin Globe Athletes Banquet, held Tuesday at Missouri Southern State University.
Nevada sophomore sensation Calli Beshore was named female cross country athlete of the year; senior Clay Gayman was tabbed male basketball athlete of the year; and freshman Ben Hines was awarded the male swimming athlete of the year.
Calli Beshore
Nevada High track-and-field and cross country star Calli Beshore continued to build off her phenomenal freshman campaign. As a sophomore in 2017-18 she put together quite possibly the most spectacular individual season in the history of the school.
One doesn’t need to comb through Kevin McKinley’s 2015 book, “Through the Eyes of the Tigers”, a virtual encyclopedia on NHS athletics, to know that Beshore’s 24 gold medals earned in a single school year is the single greatest athletic achievement in school history.
Beshore earned six gold medals during the fall cross country campaign, all consecutive, and an additional 18 golds for the spring track-and-field season.
Beshore also qualified for both the state cross country and track-and-field championship meets.
At the Class 3 cross country meet Nov. 4 in Jefferson City Beshore was on pace for a top 10, possibly top five finish, before succumbing to extreme fatigue. Fast forward to May, and Beshore placed eighth at the Class 4 state track meet in the 1,600 meter run, earning All-State accolades.
“It is a great honor to be named Female Cross Country Runner of the Year by the Joplin Globe,” Beshore told the Daily Mail. “I have been blessed to have a wonderful coach, team, and support system. I am very excited to begin my junior year.”
Second year NHS head cross country coach, and freshly minted head track coach, Ryan Watts, has been there since the start of Beshore’s prep career, helping to guide her to soaring heights.
“It’s such an honor to win such an award, especially as a sophomore,” marveled Watts. “Girl’s high school cross country (and track) is so tough in southwest Missouri right now. This region has the best talent in the state of Missouri. So to be chosen over all the other talented girls running right now really elevates it to another level. It is a testament to how hard she works and how much she wants to improve everyday.”
There’s no resting for Beshore, who is currently in Columbia honing her skills at the University of Missouri summer cross country camp.
“When I look back at her running this past cross country season, it was reassuring that no matter where we were running, at practice or at the toughest meet of the year, she was going to give us her best.”
Added Watts: “This not only makes her a better runner, but elevates her teammates around her. Being able to show up week-after-week and compete at such a high level takes total dedication and focus. Spectators often see the results, or, witness her winning races, but what they don’t see is the time she puts in at practice. Monitoring what she eats, preparing all summer for the season, but that is what it takes to have that kind of success.”
Watts detailed the challenges of distance running.
“Distance running is such a unique endeavor, as you are dealing with discomfort throughout the entirety of your event,” he said. “There are no timeouts, there are no breaks, and to run as fast as she does, the discomfort can become very painful. Great distance runners have the ability to channel and block out that pain and discomfort and push the pace as long as possible.”
Watts said Beshore excelled this season at pushing through pain.
“To the point that she had nothing left,” explained Watts, as Beshore also racked up top finishes in the 3,200 meter event. “That’s what it takes to be a great distance runner, and she did that consistently.”
Watts called Beshore’s efforts this season “inspiring.”
“What’s great about Calli is, this won’t be anything that causes her to stand pat,” said Watts. “The medals, the awards, the accolades that might make other athletes feel over confident or entitled, really just motivate her to do better and to try and improve on her success and take it to another level. She never takes things for granted, and this will just set the bar for her to push harder to improve, and empower her to try and best last years performances.”
Watts said Beshore’s work-ethic is second-to-none.
“Wanting to get better every time out is so rare, and doing what it takes to get better week- after-week is even more rare,” began Watts. “At a time where every part of our lives has been made more convenient, and easier, choosing to show up every day, and literally giving it everything you’ve got, striving to get better and never taking time off, is so uncommon. But that’s what she does, and that’s why she has had one of the best athletic careers Nevada has seen in a long time. And she still has a lot of time left in her high school career to achieve even more, and she will do whatever it takes to have even more success next season.”
Concluded Watts: “I’m so happy she got this recognition.”
Clay Gayman
Nevada High’s 6-foot-6 All-State forward capped his prep career with a second consecutive Joplin Globe Male Basketball Athlete of the Year award.
“The Globe all-area awards are very prestigious, due to the fact that their coverage area is so vast and encompasses three states and over a hundred schools across all classes,” noted NHS head boys varsity basketball coach, Shaun Gray.
Gayman, a varsity starter since day one of his freshman campaign, concluded his high school career No. 1 on the Nevada boy’s basketball all-time scoring list with 1,976 points.
Led by Gayman’s 24 points, 11 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, the Tigers claimed their first West Central Conference regular season basketball championship this season. The Tigers’ plans, however, were thwarted in the district title game, as Nevada was derailed by eventual Missouri Class 4 champion Grandview.
Gayman’s next stop is Abilene Christian University, as he will be taking his talents to the NCAA Division I level this fall.
“Winning this award in back-to-back years is a testament to the place Clay has gotten himself to as a basketball player over the past four to five years,” said Gray. “He set goals early on, was truly dedicated, and worked hard and in a purposeful way at bettering himself. A lot of individuals want to be really good, and a lot of individuals even set goals and attempt to put in work. But you would be hard-pressed to find someone who has put in more specific, more intentional work in the gym than Clay has.”
Added Gray: “It’s not just going in the gym and getting shots up, or working on some ball handling. It has been specific footwork, specific benchmarks, and specific tasks set and accomplished that have really pushed him along the way. (Training) the way that Clay does is not easy, and is something that takes a special kind of passion and drive. That passion and drive to accomplish his goals is probably what sets him apart. It’s an example that has been seen by many young players and an impression that will be lasting on many.”
Gray said Gayman has put himself in a position to suceed at the DI level and beyond.
“I have no doubt that as he carries those same practice habits over to the next level, that we will see him grow, improve, and flourish in college,” summed up Gray.
Ben Hines
The awards circuit has been keeping Ben Hines busy as of late. In addition to being named the Joplin Globe Male Swimmer of the Year, Hines was also nominated for the Springfield Sports Commission’s Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Year award.
“I’m very proud of Ben being named the 2018 Joplin Globe Male Swimming Athlete of the Year,” said NHS head swim coach, Clay Wheeler. “Ben is one of those athletes that coaches love to have. He works hard, is very coachable, sets (lofty) goals for himself, as well as being very knowledgeable about swimming. As I’m sure a lot of people are, I am excited to see what the future holds for Ben Hines.”
Hines had a remarkable freshman season in the pool, collecting nine gold medals, a pair of silvers, and a bronze. Hines’ season culminated at the Missouri Class 1 swimming and diving championships Nov. 4-5 in St. Peters, where he eared a runner-up finish in the 50-yard freestyle and a third-place showing in the 100 free. In the 50 free Hines placed third in the prelims with a time of 21.07. He then placed fifth in the 100 free prelims after clocking a 48.09.
On the biggest stage of theseason, Nov. 5, Hines clocked a 21.49 en route to his 50 free silver medal finish. In the 100 free finals Hines dropped eight-tenths of a second from his prelim time, with his official time of 47.37 resulting in a bronze medal
“I felt that Ben did an exceptional job,” said Wheeler of Hines’ state swim meet performance. “He is very familiar with large meets, but this was, of course, his first high school state meet.”
Wheeler said Hines, who already has a large frame for a prep swimmer, may need to further bulk up as he continues his quest for a state championship gold medal.
“I feel that the deciding factor was age and size,” noted Wheeler of Hines’ second-place finish in the 50 free. “The swimmer that placed first, Grant Sloan of Kearney, was a senior and stronger than Ben. I feel if those two factors had been even Ben would have been out front.”
Said Wheeler: “I think that this year is like the preview to a good movie. We are getting just a taste of the potential of both Ben and this young team.”