DARKE COUNTY – A pair of juniors who have helped lead their teams to great success this year are this week’s Daily Advocate athletes of the week.
This week’s Daily Advocate athletes of the week are Tri-Village girls basketball player Danika Mann and Versailles boys bowler Kyle Cotner.
Mann was fifth among all Darke County girls with 7.3 rebounds a game this season. The junior also was seventh in the county with 11.6 points a game.
“Danika has had a great season for us, especially considering that she has had to battle multiple injuries throughout her career so far,” Tri-Village girls basketball coach Brad Gray said.
For her efforts Mann was named first team all-Cross County Conference by the league.
“She provides us with a great post presence both offensively and defensively,” Gray said.
With the help of Mann, Tri-Village finished the season ranked sixth in the state. The Lady Patriots finished the regular season 19-3 overall, winning the CCC championship with a 12-0 record.
“She is also extremely driven to have success playing the game,” Gray said. “Her desire to win is what makes her special.”
Cotner helped lead the Versailles boys bowling team to the Ohio High School Athletic Association state tournament for a third consecutive season.
“For the season Kyle’s main goal was to help the team get to state,” Versailles bowling coach Tyler Phlipot said.
At the district meet the Versailles junior finished fourth overall with a three-game series of 690 – rolling a 221 or better in each game – to earn first team all-Southwest District honors.
Cotner, whose season average of 176.3 is fourth best in Darke County, placed second in the West Ohio High School Bowling Conference singles tournament at the beginning of the season.
“Kyle has been a leader all season whether he was bowling bad or good,” Phlipot said.
