Dustin Nye

Free State

Class: Senior

Sport: Soccer

The week: Nye made a scoreless stalemate disappear in Tuesday’s showdown against Lawrence High. After beating a defender and setting up a one-on-one with LHS goalkeeper Colin Flanders in the 48th minute, Nye wisely dished the ball up top to an open Tony Gatti, who scored what proved to be the game-winning goal. Nye’s composure and quick thinking helped keep Free State unbeaten at 2-0 this year.

Comment: “His leadership has been evident since the end of last season,” FSHS coach Jason Pendleton said. “He has worked to make himself a better player and to become a playmaker who has the best interest of the team as his primary objective.”

Keith Cowart

Baldwin

Class: Junior

Sport: Cross Country

The week: Cowart smoked the loaded Anderson County Invitational field last week in Garnett, marking a promising start to the cross country season. The junior finished the 5,000 meter course in 17:33, 29 seconds better than second-place finisher and Bulldog teammate Sam Hinton. The Baldwin trio of Cowart, Hinton and Spencer Wilson finished 1-2-3 in the race, leading Baldwin to a lopsided team victory. As a sophomore last year, Cowart placed seventh at the Class 4A state meet, helping the Bulldogs to their sixth straight state title.