Gray, Barney, and Christensen Are the WyoPreps Athlete of the Week Awards 7-18-24 [VIDEO]

Softball and baseball players from Gillette, Sheridan, and Casper earned our Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming WyoPreps Athlete of the Week honors. That honor is for July 8 through July 14, 2024. The recipients are Avery Gray from Wyoming Havoc 18U softball, Avon Barney of the Sheridan Troopers, and Holden Christensen from the Casper Oilers.

WYOPREPS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK WINNERS 7-18-24

Girls Winner

Gray led the Wyoming Havoc 18U team to the 18B division championship at the USA Softball of Wyoming state tournament last weekend in Gillette. Havoc went undefeated with a 5-0 record in the tournament, which included a pair of extra-inning wins in the last two. The final one clinched the title. Havoc defeated the Rock Springs Storm 16/18U (11-2), the Blue Jays 18U (11-5), and the Lightning 18U (10-6) to reach the semifinals. They need an extra inning but beat Wicked 307 18U, 5-4. That gave Havoc a berth in the championship game of the bracket. They faced Cody Pride 18U and survived a back-and-forth game for a 10-9 victory in eight innings.

For the weekend, Gray threw 25.1 of the 32 innings Havoc played. She went 4-0 in the circle and threw 349 pitches over the five games. Gray allowed 15 runs, 11 earned runs, on 27 hits. She struck out 35 and walked only six. At the plate, Avery hit .438 for the tournament. That included seven hits, three were doubles, and seven RBIs. She scored two runs, drew one walk, and was hit by a pitch twice.

Gray spoke with WyoPreps about her team overcoming some adversity before and during the tournament, how sweet the title was, her pitching performance, her effort at the plate, and more.

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Boys Winners

Avon Barney helped the Sheridan Troopers to a 5-1 record last week, which included a 3-1 mark in conference games. He had 11 hits, including five doubles, and 15 RBIs. Barney also scored five runs. He was 1-0 on the mound in a conference game. Barney allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits with six strikeouts. He smacked the go-ahead two-run double in the bottom of the sixth in a 17-15 victory over Cody. That win snapped the Cubs’ 16-game win streak. Barney had three doubles and four RBIs in that victory. He added two hits and three RBIs in the conference win over the Cheyenne Hawks, where he was the winning pitcher. Barney also had two hits and 5 RBIs in a conference victory against Rock Springs.

WyoPreps caught up with the southpaw to discuss the Troopers’ team performance last week, his batting, his key hit versus Cody, his pitching against the Hawks, and more.

Holden Christensen helped the Casper Oilers take second at the Bozeman Invitational in Montana. Casper was 3-2 in the tournament, and their only losses were to the host and tournament champion Bozeman Bucks AA. Christensen had a batting average of .467, an on-base percentage of .529, and a slugging percentage over .900. He finished with seven hits, which included one double and three triples. Christensen had seven RBIs and scored five times. He caught 25 of the 32 innings the Oilers played and threw out one runner.

Christensen visited with WyoPreps about his efforts and Casper’s performance in Montana. He felt good about how he and the team played, described his mentality behind the plate as the Oilers’ full-time catcher, embracing that role, his approach at the plate, and more.

Congratulations to Avery, Avon, and Holden on receiving our weekly honor!