GREATER CLEVELAND SPORTS AWARDS RECAP

Maria Taylor, NBC Sports host and correspondent hosted the 22nd annual event, marking the first African American female host in program history.

Maria Taylor, NBC Sports host and correspondent, hosted the 22nd annual Greater Cleveland Sports Awards. Taylor is familiar with hosting in Cleveland, as she hosted the 2021 NFL Draft. In the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards history, there have been 18 male hosts and four female hosts, including only one African American woman host. Taylor made history for being the first African American female host.

The main awards were split into the following categories: Male and Female High School Athlete of the Year, Male and Female Collegiate Athlete of the Year, and the Professional Athlete of the Year.

Kathryn Randorf, a volleyball player from Gilmour Academy, won the first award of the evening, Female High School Athlete of the Year. Randorf was the Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year for two consecutive seasons, leading Gilmour Academy to two straight Division 2 State Volleyball Championships. She finished with a school-record of 1,408 kills, 389 blocks, 805 digs, 105 aces, and 124 solo blocks. She was also named two-time First Team All Ohio, three-time All-District, and three-time District Player of the Year. Randorf is committed to playing volleyball for Northwestern University.

The Male High School Athlete of the Year winner was Drew Allar. From Medina High School, QB Allar was named the 2021 “Ohio Mr. Football” with 4,444 passing yards and 48 touchdowns. He also had 300 yards rushing and 9 rushing touchdowns. He led his team to the OHSAA Regional Final where they lost their first game of the season, ending with a record of 13-1. He was the 2021-2022 All-Northeast Inland District Offensive Player of the Year, Week 11 Sports Illustrated “Freaking of the Week” and FOX 8 Friday night Touchdown Player of the Year. Allar could not make the event, but he joined via live stream to accept the award from State College, Pennsylvania, where he will be playing Division 1 football with Penn State.

The first Collegiate Athlete of the Year award was given to track and field star, Adelaide Aquilla, who is attending The Ohio State University. Aquilla was awarded Ohio State’s 2021 Female Athlete of the Year. She was the champion of the 2021 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field. She set Ohio State’s indoor and outdoor shot=put record; earned Big Ten’s Field Athlete f the Championships Award; and Field Athlete of the Year Honors for both indoor and outdoor seasons. She represented Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

John Carroll University’s, Alex Phillip, won the Male Collegiate Athlete of the Year award for Cross Country. Phillip was the 2021 NCAA Division 3 Men’s Cross-Country National Champion: JCU’s first track and field national champion. He won the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships by 46.5 seconds (24:07.8), leading to JCU’s first conference win in program history. Phillip also received the Ohio Athletic Conference Runner of the Year and the NCAA Division 3 Men’s Cross Country National Athlete of the Year.

The final Athlete of the Year was given to the Cleveland Browns defensive end, Myles Garrett. Garrett set the single-season sack record, ranking third in the NFL, with a total of 16 sacks. Getting a career-high of 49 tackles, Garrett was a 2022 Pro Bowl selectee, named NFL All-Pro, and received the Cleveland Pro Football Writers of America Dino Lucarelli Good Guy Award.

The Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine Courage Award was given to junior Robbie Boyce. This award is given to a student-athlete who has faced a medical challenge in his or her life and approached the situation with courage and determination to get back into the game. Boyce plays baseball for Saint Ignatius High School. In September 2020, Boyce suddenly had a seizure and collapsed while training for the upcoming season. He was life-flighted to Cleveland Clinic’s main campus, where he was diagnosed with subarachnoid hemorrhage, a very rare type of stroke resulting in emergency brain surgery. Boyce spent five days in a medically induced coma, and when he woke up, the right side of his body was paralyzed. After months of staying in the hospital and rehab, Boyce returned to school at the beginning of the second semester, where he got back on the baseball diamond. Boyce believes that his hard work, dedication, and the support of family, friends, and medical team t Cleveland Clinic helped expedite his recovery. He then stated during his ceremony, “You’ll be able to get through it if you keep pushing as hard as you can and believing in yourself. There’s a lot of people out there rooting for you.”

During this ecstatic evening program, we saw several nominees who were all deserving of every award given. Olympians from the Greater Cleveland area presented these awards to hard-working, strong, and dedicated individuals who showed that their effort can be awarded.

The Greater Cleveland Sports Awards was hosted by the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Its purpose is to honor the top athletic achievements in Northeast Ohio from high school stars to professional athletes. The Greater Cleveland Sports Commission is responsible for attracting over 210 sporting events which provide nearly $790 million in economic activity to Northeastern Ohio.

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Updated: March 24, 2022, 3:00p.m. | Published: March 24, 2022, 3:00p.m.

CLEVELAND, Ohio

By: AJ Hymiller