Milward Simpson Award Finalists Announced

Ten Wyoming senior athletes have been selected as
finalists for the 2011 Milward Simpson Athlete of
the Year Award.

The two winners of the award will be announced
Saturday, June 25, in Casper.

The five finalists for the boys award are Taran
Brown of Campbell County High School; Jeff Lee
of Evanston High School; Justin Melton of Douglas
High School; Kyle Vinich of Natrona County High
School; and Colby Wollenman of Big Horn High
School.

The five girls' finalists are Paula Andrie of
Campbell County High School; Jordan Kelley of
Campbell County High School; Karen Koritnik
of Lovell High School; Meghan Sipe of Cheyenne
East High School; and Kayla Woodward of
Sheridan High School.

The Milward Simpson Athlete of the Year Award
is considered by many to be the most
prestigious honor bestowed upon a Wyoming high
school athlete. This will be the 36th year for
the award, which is named in honor of the late
Milward Simpson, a former Wyoming governor and
United States Senator from Cody.

Simpson served as the team captain for the
University of Wyoming football, basketball,
and baseball teams and earned varsity letters
in each sport from 1917-1921. He turned down a
professional baseball contract to attend
Harvard Law School. Simpson served as the
Governor of Wyoming from 1954-58, and later as
a United States Senator, 1962-67.

Last year's athletes of the year were Austin
Woodward of Sheridan High School and Baillie
Gibson of Natrona County High School. Other
former winners include NFL players Brady
Poppinga and Brett Keisel, former Major
Leaguer Mike Lansing, and Olympians John
Godina, Jesseca Cross and Lance Deal.

Biographies of the finalists are below.

Milward Simpson Award 2011
Girls finalists

Paula Andrie, Campbell County High School
Andrie earned 10 letters, four all-conference
and five all-state awards in track and field
and swimming. She was an eight-time state
champion in indoor track, winning the 55-meter
hurdles, pole vault, long jump and triple jump
twice each; she also won the pole vault at
the prestigious Simplot Games. In outdoor
track, she won the pole vault twice, setting
a state meet record as a senior, and also won
the long and triple jumps as a junior. In
swimming, she won the district diving
championship as a senior and finished fourth
at state while hitting all-America qualifying
standards. She will attend Nebraska on a track
scholarship. Paula is the daughter of Cheryl
and Paul Andrie.

Jordan Kelley, Campbell County High School
Kelley earned six letters, four all-conference
and three all-state awards in basketball and
track. In basketball, Kelley was a three-time
all-state and four-time all-conference selection
as the Camels’ point guard, helping her team win
state titles in her sophomore and senior seasons.
She set numerous team records, including the
record for total points in a career (1,915).
She was Wyoming’s Gatorade Player of the Year,
a McDonald’s all-American and was named as one
of Parade Magazine’s top 40 players in the
nation. She also participated in track as a
freshman and sophomore. She will attend
Washington State on a basketball scholarship.
Jordan is the daughter of Carmin and Bruce
Kelley.

Karen Koritnik, Lovell High School
Koritnik earned 12 letters, seven all-conference
and six all-state awards in track and field,
volleyball and basketball. In track and field,
she earned nine first-place finishes, including
three consecutive championships in the long jump,
in leading Lovell to back-to-back championships.
In basketball, she earned all-state honors as a
senior and led Lovell to a state title. She was
also selected to play in the Wyoming-South Dakota
all-star series and Wyoming Coaches Association
all-star game. In volleyball, she was an
all-state honoree her senior year. She will
attend Wyoming on a track and field scholarship.
Karen is the daughter of Janet and Joe Koritnik.

Meghan Sipe, Cheyenne East High School
Sipe earned eight letters, five
all-conference and two all-state awards in
volleyball and basketball. In volleyball, she
was the Wyoming Gatorade Player of the year and
was the 4A player of the year as a senior and
earned an invitation to the WCA all-star game.
In basketball, she was an all-state selection
as a senior and led East to a state 4A
championship as a junior; she earned
selections to the Wyoming-Montana and
Wyoming-South Dakota all-star series. She also
played on four state champion softball teams
as a member of the Cheyenne Extreme. She will
attend Wyoming on a volleyball scholarship.
Meghan is the daughter of Terri Meyer-Sipe
and Darrel Sipe.

Kayla Woodward, Sheridan High School
Woodward earned eight letters, five
all-conference and four all-state awards in
basketball, volleyball and track. In
basketball, she was a three-time all-state
selection and set numerous school records,
including the school’s all-time scoring
record. She was selected to play in the
Wyoming-Montana, Wyoming-South Dakota and
WCA all-star games. In volleyball, she was
an all-state selection as a senior and set
school records in kills for a season and
for a career and was picked for the WCA
all-star game. She also participated in
track and field as a sophomore. She will
attend Wyoming on a basketball scholarship.
Kayla is the daughter of Pamela and Gene
Woodward.

Boys finalists

Taran Brown, Campbell County High School
Brown earned five letters, two
all-conference and two all-state awards in
basketball and track. Brown’s main sport
was basketball, though; he was all-state as
a junior and senior, leading the Camels to a
state championship as a senior and a
runner-up finish as a junior. He was named
the Gatorade Player of the Year and a
McDonald’s all-America performer as a senior
and was selected to play in the
Wyoming-Montana and Wyoming-South Dakota
all-star series. He also participated in
track as a freshman and a sophomore and
placed in three events at state.
He will attend the University of
California-Santa Barbara on a basketball
scholarship. Taran is the son of Kris and
Todd Brown.

Jeff Lee, Evanston High School
Lee earned nine letters, four all-conference
and five all-state awards in football,
basketball and track. In football, he was
twice an all-state selection. He was named
his conference defensive player of the year
as a senior and was selected to the Casper
Star-Tribune’s Super 25 team. In basketball,
he was an all-state selection as a senior.
He was team captain for both his football
and basketball teams as a senior. In track,
he was an all-state winner as a senior
after placing second in the 4A long jump.
He is also a member of Evanston’s American
Legion baseball team. He will attend Dixie
State on a football scholarship. Jeff is
the son of Peggy and Wayne Lee.

Justin Melton, Douglas High School
Melton earned eight letters, five
all-conference and five all-state awards
in track, football and wrestling. In track,
Melton was a three-time all-state honoree,
winning the 100 and 200 as a both a junior
and a senior while setting a new 3A record
in the 100. He also won the 400 as a senior
and ran a leg of the winning 4x100 relay as
a junior. In football, Melton was a
two-time all-state selection and helped
lead Douglas to three consecutive state
championships as a wide receiver, defensive
back and return specialist. He also lettered
in wrestling as a sophomore. He will attend
Chadron State on a football scholarship.
Justin is the son of Junan and Russ Melton.

Kyle Vinich, Natrona County High School
Vinich earned seven letters, six
all-conference and four all-state awards in
football, basketball and track. In football,
he was named all-state twice and was named
to the Casper Star-Tribune’s Super 25 first
team as a senior as NC won the state title
his senior year. In basketball, he was an
all-state performer twice, leading NC to a
state title as a junior, and was named to
the Wyoming-Montana, Wyoming-South Dakota
and WCA all-star games. In track, he helped
NC win back-to-back state titles, placing
in the long, high and triple jumps as a
junior and senior. He will attend Chadron
State on a football scholarship and will
also play basketball. Kyle is the son of
Dayna and Chris Vinich.

Colby Wollenman, Big Horn High School
Wollenman earned nine letters, five
all-conference and four all-state awards
in football, basketball and soccer. In
football, Wollenman was a two-time
all-state selection at quarterback and
was his conference’s player of the year
and a Casper Star-Tribune Super 25
selection as a senior. In basketball,
Wollenman was twice all-state and led
Big Horn to a 28-0 season his senior
year; he was also picked for the
Wyoming-Montana, Wyoming-South Dakota
and WCA all-star games. In soccer,
playing for Sheridan, Wollenman was a
two-year starter and was an
all-conference choice his senior year.
The National Merit scholar will attend
Michigan State. Colby is the son
of Renee and Paul Wollenman.