KINGDOM CITY -- Two North Callaway student-athletes who will play diamond sports in college -- Bradyn O'Neal and Ellie Bedsworth -- earned the 2022-23 Jerry Schoppenhorst Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards Thursday at North Callaway High School.
The award is voted on by all head coaches in the North Callaway School District and may be presented to any North Callaway High School student who participated in a varsity sport in 2022-23. While two seniors won the award, it doesn't have to be a senior who gets it.
Criteria for the award include attitude, physical ability, college potential, number of sports involved in, impact on their team's (s) success, desire/work ethic and sportsmanship.
Showing how valuable he's been in his four years at North Callaway, O'Neal earned the Jerry Schoppenhorst Male Athlete of the Year for the second straight year.
O'Neal played baseball, football and boys basketball for the Thunderbirds.
On the diamond this season, O'Neal notched a team-high .455 batting average, 30 runs, 30 hits, nine doubles, five triples, 23 stolen bases and 48 assists. He also tied teammate Matthew Weber for a team-high 31 RBI.
Leading North Callaway's offense at quarterback, O'Neal guided the Thunderbirds to their second seven-win season in his four years -- most in that time -- on the team.
Throwing the ball, O'Neal completed 114-of-232 pass attempts (49.1%) for 1,640 yards, 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this season. He tallied an 84.3 quarterback rating and averaged 14.4 yards per completion, 149.1 yards per game, 10.4 completions per game and two touchdowns per game.
As a rusher, O'Neal recorded a team-high 181 carries, 1,088 yards, 98.9 yards per game, five 100+ yard games and 13 touchdowns this season. He also registered the team's longest carry this season, going 80 yards.
Last but not least, O'Neal was part of North Callaway's boys basketball team that had the second-best postseason finish in program history, making it to sectionals before its season ended with a triple overtime loss to Cole Camp.
Starting at point guard for the Thunderbirds, O'Neal recorded a team-high 132 assists while finishing second in steals with 62 this season. The senior averaged 5.6 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, 4.7 assists per game and 2.2 steals per game.
Bedsworth, the 2022-23 Jerry Schoppenhorst Female Athlete of the Year, was on the Ladybirds' softball, girls basketball and girls track and field teams.
In softball, Bedsworth shined most as a fielder, notching a team-high 109 putouts in 132 chances this season. Offensively, Bedsworth registered a .254 batting average, 10 runs, 15 hits (one extra-base hit -- a double) and nine RBI in 68 plate appearances (59 at-bats).
Playing in the starting five as a forward for North Callaway girls basketball, Bedsworth tallied 2.4 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game, 0.7 assists per game, 0.5 steals per game and 0.3 blocks per game.
Competing in field events for the Ladybirds track and field team, Bedsworth's personal records were 91 feet, 3.28 inches in the discus, 89-06.8 in the javelin and 32-08.13 in the shot put.
Bedsworth notched two second-place finishes in the shot put for her best placing this season. She took second in the shot put in the Thunderbird Invitational on April 11 (32-03.8) and the Thunderbird Early Invite on March 28 (31-09.89).
Starting in the 2023-24 school year, O'Neal will play baseball for Columbia College and Bedsworth softball for Westminster College.
North Callaway's Ellie Bedsworth signs for Westminster College's softball team on Jan. 13 at North Callaway High School in Kingdom City. Bedsworth was named the 2023 Jerry Schoppenhorst Female Athlete of the Year. (Courtesy/North Callaway R1 School District)