CLEVELAND -- Across every sport, there are thousands of prep athletes in the Greater Cleveland area, but four stood out among the rest and have been nominated for High School Athlete of the Year at the 17th Annual Greater Cleveland Sports Awards.
Football players Dillon Dingler and Jaylen Harris, basketball player Valencia Myers and softball standout Andrea Scali have been nominated for the High School Athlete of the Year, the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission announced Friday.
The winner will be announced at this year’s awards ceremony at the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel Thursday, January 26.
A standout wide receiver for Massillon Jackson High School, Dingler was named the Division I Player of the Year after breaking the school record with 1,053 yards and 11 touchdowns on 45 catches. A two-way player for the Polar Bears, Dingler registered 128 total tackles with eight pass breakups on defense.
A three-sport athlete, Dingler has committed to play baseball for The Ohio State University.
A top-rated receiver heading into the season after receiving All-Ohio Special Mention honors in 2015, Harris turned 53 receptions into 820 yards and eight touchdowns for the Tigers.
Harris has committed to play football for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The center for the Solon basketball team, Myers has helped the Comets earn the top ranking in Northeast Ohio this season. In 2015, Myers represented her country on the USA Basketball U16 National Team that won the bronze medal at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship.
Committed to continue her career at Kent State University, Scali was a first-team All-Ohio selection after going 17-1 with 260 strikeouts over 117 innings in the circle last season. She did not allow any earned runs and batted .600 with 13 home runs and 38 runs batted in.
Also a member of the basketball and volleyball teams, Scali has earned 12 varsity letters and is a three-time Great Lakes Conference Pitcher of the Year.
