Stellern is VB Gatorade POY

Cheyenne East's Cosette Stellern is the Gatorade Volleyball player of the year for Wyoming for a 2nd year in a row.

In its 31st year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, announced Cosette Stellern of Cheyenne East High School as its 2015-16 Gatorade Wyoming Volleyball Player of the Year.

Stellern is the third Gatorade Wyoming Volleyball Player of the Year to be chosen from Cheyenne East High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Stellern as Wyoming’s best high school volleyball player.

Stellern joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including USA Volleyball players Kim Glass (2001-02, Horseshoe HS, Penn.), Kim Willoughby (1998-99, 1999-00, Assumption HS, La.) and Ogonna Nnamani (1999-00, University HS, Ill).

The state’s returning Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year, Stellern led the Thunderbirds to a 33-1 record, and a second consecutive Class 4A state championship this past season.

In a title-clinching sweep of Evanston, the 6-foot junior outside hitter recorded nine kills on 18 attempts and added four blocks.

Stellern slammed 280 kills while posting a .534 kill percentage and .420 hitting percentage in 34 matches.

She tallied 96 blocks, 54 digs and 22 assists.

Stellern has maintained a 3.44 GPA in the classroom.

A member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and her school’s peer-mentoring program, she has volunteered on behalf of her church, the Salvation Army, Operation Christmas Child, Drug Abuse Resistance Education, Cheyenne Animal Shelter, a retirement home and Cheyenne Frontier Days.

An accomplished saxophonist and violinist, Stellern has also donated her time locally by serving at-risk children as well as coaching youth volleyball and basketball.

“Anyone who watches Cosette Stellern play volleyball can see what her coaches know: Cosette loves her teammates, loves the game and loves to compete,” said East head coach Dan Box. “Cosette is the energy engine that drives our team. She is an unbelievable force as a hitter, and more importantly she is a positive, team-first player. She is the kind of athlete that comes around once in a coaching lifetime.”

Stellern will begin her senior year of high school in the fall of 2016.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport.

The selection process is administered by the Gatorade high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Two-time winner Stellern joins Gatorade Wyoming Volleyball Players of the Year Sydney Matheny (2013-14, Campbell County High School), Sally Sanders (2012-13, East High School), Caitlin McInerney (2011-12, Laramie High School), Meghan Sipe (2010-11, Cheyenne East High School), Paige Hellbaum (2009-10, Wheatland High School) and Emily Rochelle (2008-09 & 2007-08, Kelly Walsh High School) among the state’s list of former award winners.