Sibert, Merritt, and Gibson Snag WyoPreps Athlete of the Week Awards 11-22-23

For the second straight week, the WyoPreps Athlete of the Week honors, presented by Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Wyoming, went to champion volleyball and football players.

Looking back at some of the top efforts during state championships for volleyball and football, this week’s honors go to senior Ali Sibert of Mountain View and her Buffalos teammates, and Star Valley lineman Clay Merritt and Jesse Gibson and their Braves’ teammates.

Mountain View senior Ali Sibert guided the Buffalos’ offense that led to a second straight Class 3A state championship earlier this month. Sibert had 103 assists over the ten sets they played at the state tournament. She added 30 digs and two block assists. Mountain View swept Wheatland and Buffalo to reach the title match and took down Powell in four sets. The scores were 25-20, 17-25, 25-15, and 25-20. For the season, Sibert finished with 1,212 assists for the state champs.

WyoPreps spoke with Sibert earlier this week about the title, some of the keys to their success at the state tournament, running the offense from her setter position, playing for head coach Diana Tims, and more.

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On the gridiron, we know the fellas up front don’t get as much recognition as they deserve. That’s why we selected Merritt and Gibson after the Star Valley Braves repeated as 3A state champs. As main contributors along the offensive line, the duo helped Star Valley rush for 250 yards as a team in the title game. The Braves averaged 5.2 yards per rush and scored three touchdowns. Defensively, they helped SV limit Cody to 278 yards of total offense. Merritt had two tackles and one forced fumble, while Gibson finished with one tackle.

The seniors visited with WyoPreps about the championship feeling, what it was like to shut out a rival in the title game, how the defensive line and offensive line played, and more.

Congratulations to Ali, Clay, and Jesse.

The WyoPreps Athlete of the Week nominations are still being accepted for championship weekend performances from girls’ swimming and diving, volleyball, and football. We will be featuring more student-athletes in between fall and winter sports.