Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
By SCOTT PURKS
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 13, 2001
TAMPA -- Holding their respective trophies, wrestler David Emch and basketball players Kenny Huebner and Janet Howard said they were a little surprised with the way Thursday morning turned out.
"My coach (Rudy Toth) told me to dress nice on Thursday. That's all I knew," said Howard, a Blake senior who earned the county's top individual honor for girls basketball. "Before the season, I never thought about winning anything like this.
"All I ever wanted to do was go out and play and try to help my team win."
She did. Blake went 14-7 this season with Howard directing the offense and averaging 15 points a game.
Huebner and Emch have similar stories.
Huebner won the boys basketball award after averaging 13 points and nine rebounds while leading Gaither to a 19-9 record.
Emch went 38-0 with 30 pins, ending his four-year Brandon career with a 140-9 record while helping the Eagles earn their 12th state title. The awards are given each year to seniors displaying the highest levels of sportsmanship, scholarship, leadership and athletic prowess. Huebner, also named to the Times 2000 All-Suncoast football first team and a future defensive lineman with South Florida, said earning this award was particularly satisfying because his basketball career is over.
"I feel I have a long and prosperous road ahead in football," said Huebner, who recorded 28 sacks last season. "So this is really, really a great honor for me in my last year of basketball."
Emch said he will wrestle at Iowa Central Community College with hopes of moving on to a Division I school.
"I'll probably stay in wrestling my whole life just like (Brandon coach Russ Cozart, who competes in international events)," Emch said. "It's in my blood."
Howard, who has a 4.3 grade point average, said she is weighing her college options, but basketball is definitely in her plans.
Cozart, who couldn't attend Thursday's ceremonies because of a wrestling competition, was named the county's wrestling coach of the year.