(6/5) Sugar Salem's Brooke Hansen Named Athlete of the Year

As far as sports goes... it's been a year of great games, unbelievable plays, and wonderfully talented athletes. In the midst of all that, Sugar Salem's Brooke Hansen was dubbed the 2009 Summit Orthopaedics Athlete of the Year.

Here at Local News 8 we had the tough task of narrowing down ALL of the great athletes into a group of four. Two girls and two boys were selected as finalist for the award. Here's a rundown of each finalist:

Tanner Higham is arguably the most successful student athlete Shelley High School has ever had. In his four years at the school, he's been a part of an amazing 9 state titles, and this year he continued to add to his great legacy. On the football field, he played quarterback and defensive back, guiding the Russets to an 8 and 3 record and the semifinals of the state tournament. As a defensive back... he was the conference defensive player of the year, and a 1st-team all stater at the position. On the hardwood, Tanner's accolades were almost as good as his flashy moves. He was named the Idaho 3-A player of the year, and helped lead the russets to their 2nd state championship in the last three years. Despite his gifted athletic skills in both football and basketball, it'll be golf that Tanner's playing at the next level. On the links this year, his contributions helped the russets win their 4th straight team title, and individually, he finished 2nd to his cousin Tommy at districts and 4th at state.

Laurel Kearsley may be the only one of our four candidates who didn't win a state title this year, but her impact was felt just as much. A four-year varsity letterman in volleyball, basketball, and softball, Kearsley's mere presence alone made people take notice of the small 3-A school in Driggs. She was the bright spot on a volleyball team that finished near the bottom of the conference, leading the team in kills, on her way to 1st-team all-league honors. On the basketball court, she was the area player of the year, leading District 6 in scoring at nearly 18 points per game. She also passed the thousand point mark in her career, and hit arguably the shot of the year, a runner at the buzzer to send the Redskins to state for the first time since 1995, where they would get a win before falling in the semis. Softball-wise, she continued to put up the great numbers that made her last year's player of the year, hitting nearly .500, and averaging more than an RBI per game. Next year she'll be playing hoops for CSI.

The numbers popped off the page. Nearly 3800 yards of total offense and 32 total touchdowns. There was no doubt about it, Taysom Hill was the best football player in the state this year. Well, it's one thing to be gifted, but it's another to be a gifted winner, and Hill was both. We saw the potential in week two, when Hill's leadership and talent allowed the rams to seriously challenge Grant High School, the eventual state champion out of California. Once the state playoffs arrived, the 5-A player of the year wouldn't let his team lose, accounting for all 6 of Highland's scores in a quarterfinal win over Lake City, and then culminating the season by having a hand in all four touchdowns in the state-title clinching win over Eagle. Of course, Taysom wasn't a one-trick pony. He could play a little hoops as well, to the tune of 16 points and 10 rebounds a game, which was good enough for a second straight first team all-area selection. After recovering from surgery on his knee after the basketball season, Hill even gave track a try, qualifying for state in the 200 meter dash and long jump. Taysom Hill is a Stanford-bound football sensation.

But in the end it was Brooke Hansen... she did a little bit of everything for Sugar-Salem High School this year, even representing the Diggers at the state Junior Miss competition during the fall. It was on the athletic fields though, where this gifted senior truly had a year to remember. She was the team captain on the state-championship winning volleyball team, a squad who repeated as champs for the third straight year. Brooke was a hitting force all year long, earning conference player of the year and all-state honors. The great year continued on the basketball court, where again serving as captain, Brooke played a crucial role in the Diggers perfect 24 and 0, state-championship-winning campaign. And during the spring, she capped off the year in fine fashion, sweeping the 3-A 100, 200, and long jump titles at the state track meet, in helping her team to a 3rd place finish. All told, that's 5 state titles on three different teams.

The selection was based upon voting from 3 separate entities. The general public via the Local News 8 website. The Athletic Directors from several schools all over Eastern Idaho. And of course the media, not only TV but newspaper sports writers as well. Athletes got 1 point for winning a category, 2 for second, 3 for third, and 4 for 4th. We then added up the point totals from the three categories and the lowest score equals the winner. Here's the 2009 Summit Orthopaedics Athlete of the Year selection broken down by points:

Brooke: 6 points (viewers: 3rd, media: 2nd, AD's: 1st)