I can’t believe Mike Miller.

Miller, the Journal-World’s high school sports writer last year, blatantly named the Free State awards after a piece of meat — the Bratsies.

I won’t stand for that. This year’s awards will pay tribute to those who broke down barriers so that I proudly can get yelled at for favoring one school over the other.

He was the original. He was the legend. He was Rob Sinclair, the first J-W reporter ever to cover Free State and now a sports copy editor.

With a tear in my eye, I present to you, the Sinclairs …

Team of the Year: Boys swimming and diving. They’re the first, and that has to be a pretty neat feeling. They became the first team in Free State history to capture a state title, outlasting Olathe East and Shawnee Mission East for the crown. No other FSHS team can claim that distinction.

• Coach of the Year: Annette McDonald. The boys swim coach was blessed with a lot of talent, and she would be the first to tell you that. But her job at maximizing their point totals at the state meet — by figuring out which swimmers to put in which events — was perfect. She called it “a big puzzle” and arranged the pieces to fit, giving Free State 251 points and a big plaque the final day.
• Outstanding Senior (boy): Dain Dillingham. Quite the honor, considering the caliber of his classmates, but the senior earned it with memorable seasons in both football and basketball. He caught 42 passes — many of them acrobatic — for 715 yards on the football field, and then averaged better than 15 points a game on the court. He deservedly will be playing both sports at Drake University next year.
• Outstanding Senior (girl): Lacey Baxter. A serious knee injury ended a sizzling all-around year for Baxter, who was a state champion on the balance beam in gymnastics, then one of the state’s premier pole vaulters in the spring. She signed to vault at Nebraska, but faces at least a year of rehabilitation before she will be able to compete as a collegian.
• Outstanding Junior (boy): Anthony Portela. Brady Morningstar made this a race, but Portela wins thanks to his role in the state swim title. Portela was state champ in the 100 butterfly, and swam legs in state-champion relay teams.
• Outstanding Junior (girl): Jamie Stanclift. She was in the middle of seemingly every sport, but actually played in only three. Stanclift was a solid contributor on a volleyball team that came very close to a state berth, was the leading scorer for an improved basketball team and then was a big-stick shortstop in softball.
• Outstanding Sophomore (boy): Brett Lisher. Already making an impact in three varsity sports, Lisher should give coaches reason to smile the next two years. The son of football coach Bob Lisher was an impact linebacker in football, saw some playing time on the basketball court and was a heavy-hitting outfielder on the state runner-up baseball team.
• Outstanding Sophomore (girl): Ashley Robinson. A tough call between Robinson and Alysha Valencia, but Robinson gains a narrow edge because of her big day at the state swim meet. Robinson won the 100 butterfly and 500 freestyle, leading the Firebirds to a fourth-place finish.
• Outstanding Freshman: Katie Swank. A two-time Sunflower League champion is enough to sway me. Just when we thought the Free State High girls swim team was in good hands with Ashley Jackson and Ashley Robinson, Swank came along and gave coach Jama Crady another weapon.
• Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Lauren Abney. The basketball guard/javelin thrower never let her athletic activities interrupt her studies. She was the league and regional champion and state runner-up in the javelin, and received heavy Division One interest before finally choosing Kentucky.
• Play of the Year: The boys 400 freestyle relay needed just a clean race with no disqualification to clinch the state swim title. The quartet of Brunfeldt, Portela, Chris Wolff and Chris Sellon did better than that, shattering a school record and winning the race by nearly two seconds.
• Game of the Year: Free State baseball 11, SM West 10. The Vikings kept piling runs on, but the Firebirds weren’t going to let them go home winners. Ryne Price jacked a three-run home run in the sixth inning to bring Free State back, then knocked the most memorable hit of the season — a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the Firebirds one of the most dramatic wins in school history … in any sport.
• Dominating Performance: Brady Morningstar. All eyes were on the junior in the most hyped boys basketball game of the year: Lawrence High vs. Free State in the first round of the sub-state. Morningstar scored a school-record 34 points, hitting six three-pointers and carrying a Firebird team to a three-point victory.
• Fan’s Sign of the Year: At the very first football game, a student brought a clever sign that read “Our dancers are better than yours, Lancers!” Oops. The Firebirds were playing the Shawnee Mission Northwest Cougars, not the SM East Lancers. Regardless, that fan earns a Sinclair for the effort. Congratulations.