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Athletes: O-M's Kenney, WG's Pettet

ODESSA, May 5 -- This week we have a repeat winner, and the reappearance of a Watkins Glen athlete who now has the most weekly honors at her school this year.

The repeat honoree is Odessa-Montour's Michele Kenney -- last week's winner, last spring's Schuyler MVP and a multiple owner of these weekly awards last year. This time she stood out at the inaugural 10-school Legends of the Night Track Invitational at O-M, where she won the 100 Hurdles, won the Long Jump, finished third in the Pole Vault, and then overcame a 10-yard disadvantage in the final leg of the 4x100 to overtake a Notre Dame runner for second place. "Did you see that?" was the common response to that sprint. Yes, we did.

Watkins Glen's Somer Pettet established her claim to this honor at that same track meet, when she bettered the school record in the 3000 by 20.1 seconds, going the distance in 11:08.7. Pettet stayed just behind and at the elbow of a lead runner for most of the race, and then with a half lap to go took off, putting a huge distance between herself and the field. "She didn't just break the record," enthused WG track coach Marie Fitzsimmons. "She shattered it!" This is Pettet's sixth Athlete of the Week honor during this school year.

All-Star teams

In addition to Athlete of the Week and Athlete of the Year awards at each school, we are naming seasonal All-Star teams as well -- helping to provide wider recognition missing this year with our decision to jettison Athlete of the Week Honorable Mentions and cumulative point totals.

One team was announced after the fall sports season, and another after the winter sports season, based on performance and sportsmanship by athletes at each of the two schools covered -- Odessa-Montour and Watkins Glen. Now, with Trumansburg and Bradford High Schools added to our coverage area, we will examine ways to expand the honors.

Each season, several days after announcement of the All-Stars, a seasonal MVP -- just one from the county -- is named from among the All-Star honorees.

This year's Fall MVP was Odessa-Montour soccer standout Makenzi Alling, while the winter honor went to Watkins Glen track standout Somer Pettet.

Each All-Star receives a specially-designed T-shirt marking the occasion -- along with the attendant publicity on this website. Each MVP receives a trophy.

Color coding, and Athlete of the Year

Each Athlete of the Week at Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour receives a T-shirt with that designation on the front, and his or her first name and the date of the honor on the shirt sleeve. First-time wins merit a T-shirt in the honoree's school color. If a person wins more than one weekly award, the color of the subsequent shirt or shirts will reflect that: green for a second win, followed by burnt orange, chestnut brown and honey ... with perhaps a red thrown in.

The person with the most shirts at the end of the year might well win Athlete of the Year at his or her school, although a close race could be affected by sportsmanship and leadership -- intangibles that call for a subjective judgment. In such a close contest, inclusion on The Odessa File All-Star teams would also be taken into account, and coaches would be consulted for guidance as a final decision is made.

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History (since inception of the awards on Aug. 30, 2004):

2007-08

Week One Winners: Bobby Hornick of O-M; Izell Jones of Watkins Glen.

Week Two Winners: Derek Thoman of O-M; Alan McIlroy and Sophie Peters of Watkins Glen.

Week Three Winners: Allison Stamp of O-M; Haleigh Wixson of Watkins Glen.

Week Four Winners: Aaron Linton and Matt Shutter of O-M;.Jaclyn Conklin of Watkins Glen.

Week Five Winners: Katey Cheplick and Makenzi Alling of O-M; Jaclyn Conklin of Watkins Glen.

Week Six Winners: Cassie Fitch of O-M; Kelly Martin of Watkins Glen.

Week Seven Winners: Makenzi Alling of O-M; Somer Pettet and Joe Stansfield of Watkins Glen.

Week Eight Winners: Alyssa Bruno and Whitney Ayers of O-M; Haleigh Wixson and Jaclyn Conklin of Watkins Glen.

Week Nine Winners: Matt Shutter of Odessa-Montour; Jaclyn Conklin and Haleigh Wixson of Watkins Glen.

Week Ten Winners: Alyssa Bruno of O-M; Molly Murphy and Somer Pettet of Watkins Glen.

Week Eleven Winners: Katey Cheplick and John Blaha of Odessa-Montour; Kris Larson of Watkins Glen.

Week Twelve Winners: Aaron Linton and Rebecca Ayers of Odessa-Montour; Taylor Chaffee of Watkins Glen.

Week Thirteen Winners: Todd Kautz and Jesse Johnson of Odessa-Montour; Sophie Peters and Jarrad Peters of Watkins Glen.

Week Fourteen Winners: Aaron Linton of Odessa-Montour; Taylor Chaffee and Justin DeDominick of Watkins Glen.

Week Fifteen Winners: Rebecca Ayers of Odessa-Montour; Taylor Chaffee and Luke Buckman of Watkins Glen.

Week Sixteen Winners: Aaron Linton and Luke Smith of Odessa-Montour; Taylor Chaffee and Ernie Brennan of Watkins Glen.

Week Seventeen Winners: Aaron Linton and Cassie Fitch of Odessa-Montour; Ernie Brennan and Brandon Persha of Watkins Glen.

Week Eighteen Winners: Jesse Johnson and Todd Kautz of Odessa-Montour; Somer Pettet of Watkins Glen

Week Nineteen Winners: Jason Hubbell of Odessa-Montour; Ernie Brennan of Watkins Glen.

Week Twenty Winners: Cassie Fitch at Odessa-Montour; Taylor Chaffee and Chris Hong at Watkins Glen.

Week Twenty-One Winners: Cassie Fitch and Todd Kautz at Odessa-Montour; Sophie Peters and Luke Buckman at Watkins Glen

Week Twenty-Two Winners: Aaron Linton and Jesse Johnson at Odessa-Montour; Somer Pettet at Watkins Glen.

Week Twenty-Three Winners: Aaron Linton and Rebecca Ayers at Odessa-Montour; Somer Pettet and Luke Buckman at Watkins Glen.

Week Twenty-Four Winners: Katey Cheplick and Kala Rounds at Odessa-Montour; Mark Fraboni and Jordan Niver-Johnson at Watkins Glen.

Week Twenty-Five Winners: Jordan Eaves at Odessa-Montour; Phillip Kellogg at Watkins Glen.

Week Twenty-Six Winners: Michele Kenney at Odessa-Montour; Brandon Kottwitz and Shelby Olafson at Watkins Glen.

Week Twenty-Seven Winners: Michele Kenney at Odessa-Montour; Somer Pettet at Watkins Glen.

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Previous Athletes of the Year:

Watkins Glen: Courtney Warren (2004-05), Michelle Thorpe (2005-06), Jaclyn Conklin (2006-07)

Odessa-Montour: Katie Taber (2004-05), Katie Taber (2005-06), Bobby Potter (2006-07)

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2006-07 Seasonal MVPs:

Schuyler Fall MVP: Jaclyn Conklin, Watkins Glen

Schuyler Winter MVP: Sparky Gardner, Odessa-Montour

Schuyler Spring MVP: Michele Kenney, Odessa-Montour

2007-08 Seasonal MVPs:

Schuyler Fall MVP: Makenzi Alling, Odessa-Montour

Schuyler Winter MVP: Somer Pettet, Watkins Glen

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Note to Athletes: While each week's decisions are based on performance, matters of leadership and sportsmanship -- which include attitude -- are also factored in, and can make the difference in who is honored, and who isn't.