Walker and Jones Receive WyoPreps Athlete of the Week Awards [VIDEO]

A volleyball player and a football player, who both play for top-ranked teams earned WyoPreps Athlete of the Week honors presented by Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Wyoming.

Mountain View senior volleyball player Kate Walker received the girls’ award. Little Snake River junior quarterback Mason Jones snagged the boys’ honor.

Walker helped 3A No. 1 Mountain View to a 5-0 record last week. They beat Class 4A Green River in a road match and followed that with a 4-0 mark at the 3A West Conference Duals in Powell. For the week, Walker led the Buffalos with 93 kills and a .349 hitting percentage. She had a 2.04 serve-receive passing average on 97 attempts. Walker added six blocks, 45 digs, and 11 service aces.

Mountain View head coach Diana Tims said in the nomination, “Kate significantly contributed to our team going 5-0 this week in games where we played 1 4A team and also went to the 3A conference duals…She has an incredible ability to score and lead her team.”

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Jones led the No. 1 ranked Little Snake River Rattlers to a 42-12 victory over second-ranked Encampment in Class 1A 6-man football last Saturday. Jones went 12-18 for 251 yards, 5 touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Not bad for a young man whose previous career-high in passing attempts in one game was nine. His previous career-best in passing yards was 122. The Rattlers were only averaging 97 passing yards per game before the contest against the Tigers.

The nomination said, “Encampment’s tough rush defense made it hard for us (LSR) to establish a running game but he (Mason) stepped up in a big way.”

On Wednesday, WyoPreps spoke with both student-athletes. Walker discussed what made Mountain View so successful, her big week, the team’s improvement over the last month, and more. Jones knew the aerial attack was a big part of the Rattlers’ victory. He touched on his development as the season has gone along, how he stepped into a big role at QB and more.

Congratulations to Kate and Mason.

The WyoPreps Athlete of the Week nominations are accepted weekly from 5 p.m. on Fridays through 9 a.m. on Mondays. Anyone can nominate a student-athlete or team. Winners are announced each Wednesday.