Poll results: Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy basketball player named boys athlete of the winter season
A Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy basketball player is the boys athlete of the winter sports season, as selected by readers of CentreDaily.com.
Jayden Stamm was selected as the winner with 47% of the poll and 436 total votes, narrowly edging out Bellefonte’s Jacob McConnell who had 45% and 415 votes.
Stamm finished his season as the team’s leading scorer, earning himself a spot on the Tri-Valley Athletic Association all-star team. He averaged 17 points per game and made 62 3-pointers this season. Stamm also averaged four rebounds per game and over three steals per game while shooting 71 percent from the free throw line.
Here are the other nominees for athlete of the season.
Carter Boone, Bellefonte swimming: Bellefonte swimming’s Carter Boone was named second team All-State in the 200 freestyle and the 100 butterfly this season. Boone was a state qualifier in both events and won the District 6 title in the events.
Asher Cunningham, State College wrestling: State College’s Asher Cunningham ended his junior year as a state champion. Cunningham went 37-1 on the this at 160 pounds on the way to winning his first state title. Nearly 75% of his matches were won by either major decision, technical fall, or fall. After dealing with an injury in the final quarter of the season, Cunningham continued to pile up bonus points in the postseason, winning seven of his nine postseason matches with bonus points. He defeated Central Dauphin’s Ryan Garvick in the state final, winning by a 2-0 decision. That match was also the 100th win of the Penn State wrestling commit’s career.
Marcus Gable, Philipsburg-Osceola wrestling: Philipsburg-Osceola’s Marcus Gable finished his wrestling career by going 45-8 as a senior and earning a medal at the 2024 PIAA Wrestling Championships with a seventh place finish. Gable went 120-38 in his career with 78% of his wins coming with bonus points. He finished in the top three in districts four times, making the finals three times and winning the title once. Gable placed four times at regionals in his career and will continue his wrestling career at Millersville University.
Sam Huggins, State College swimming: State College swimming’s Sam Huggins left the 2024 PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships with two silver medals. Huggins finished second in both the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle at the event. The North Carolina swimming commit set the school record in both events and was a two-time Mid Penn conference champion. Huggins was also named first team all-conference in the Mid Penn and won four district titles this season.
Sam Krasowitz, Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy boys basketball: Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy’s Sam Krasowitz was a Tri-Valley Athletic Association all-star nominee this year for the Wolfpack. He was an on-court leader for the team, averaging six points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal per game, while also making 34 3-pointers and taking 11 charges on defense.
Jacob McConnell, Bellefonte boys basketball: Bellefonte boys basketball’s Jacob McConnell was an off-court leader for the Raiders this season and it showed in his play on the court. McConnell averaged 15.2 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game, 4.2 assists per game and 3.1 steals per game this season for Bellefonte.
Liam Quigley, Penns Valley swimming: Penns Valley swimming’s Liam Quigley ends the season as the District 6 record holder in the 100 breaststroke after winning the district and LHAC titles in the event. He medaled at states in the event with a sixth place finish, while also finishing 10th there in the 100 freestyle — another event that he won the district and LHAC titles in.
Ty Watson, Penns Valley wrestling: Penns Valley has its first three-time state medalist in wrestling in Ty Watson. Watson, who is committed to wrestle at Penn State, finished his career with 126 wins after posting a 38-8 record in his senior year and finishing eighth at the 2024 PIAA Wrestling Championships.
The CDT’s Athlete of the Week polls run throughout each season, followed by an Athlete of the Season poll. We take nominations from all six county athletic departments for athlete of the week and athlete of the season. Voting for this poll ended Wednesday, after the original girls athlete of the season poll was closed due to vote totals not matching participant counts. Out of fairness, both polls were restarted with a captcha added and voting limited to one vote per person.
As a reminder, the poll is not scientific and just for fun. Look for future polls at CentreDaily.com.
This story was originally published March 25, 2024 at 11:45 AM.
