Congratulations to the Male & Female Athletes of the Year for 2017-2018- Gio Jackson and Sydney Taggart, as well as the Team of the Year- Men's Basketball.
Gio is a sophomore on the Men's Basketball Team that represented Everett CC extremely well during his 2 years at Everett CC. During this season, Gio was named NWAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week twice; named to the LCC Red Devil Classic All-Tournament Team (11/24-11/26); named EvCC Men's Basketball MVP; was 13th in NWAC Scoring, 3rd in Rebounding and 1st in Assists. He led the Men's Basketball Team to a 26 win season, which is the highest in school history. He was named the Norther Region MVP as well as the NWAC Baden Player of the Year (1st in Program History). Gio was a leader on and off the floor, helping other players new to the area adjust to college life. He worked in Student LIFE as the Trojan Nation Coordinator. Gio's leadership is off the charts and everyone from Instructors, Students, Administrators, and Coaches like him. He's exactly what it meanst to be a Trojan and will do big things in the future. Gio will be a marketing and business major at Shawnee State University in Ohio, where he accepted a full ride scholarship with a 2.25 GPA.
Sydney is a freshman on the Women's Basketball Team and a Sophomore on the Softball Team (she played a year at PLU). BASKETBALL: On the basketball team, she was asked to play a position that she was uncomfortable with for the betterment of the team. She accepted that role with open arms and never once complained about it. She is one of the most genuine young women that coach Hovde has had the pleasure of being around. Her attitude was always positive and it helped the basketball team tremendously. She became a vocal leader as the season progressed. Her time management skills are unbelievable. She not only took a full load of classes and had basketball practices/games, but was also fully committed to the softball team as well. Her 3.73 GPA shows that her studies did not suffer due to playing on 2 teams, with those seasons overlapping. Sydney averaged 7 rebounds a game, the most on the team; as well as 9.6 points a game. She shot 80.4% from the free throw line and 57.5% from the field, also highest on the team. She played every game with heart and a "don't stop" attitude. She wasn't only admired by her coaches but also by her teammates. SOFTBALL: Sydney led our team this year in the circle pitching us to a 3rd place finish in the extremely tough North Division posting a 21 win and 10-loss record. She finished with a very impressive 3.08ERA. Sydney also helped with her batting average of a .377, along with 11HR's and 30 RBI's. She was named to the North Region 1st Team as a Utility player. Sydney has participated in several team fundraising events; serving dinner to over 300 low-income families at a Thanksgiving event provided by the Everett Boys & Girls Club as well as helping with several duties for a Fundraising event sponsored by BASE By Pros to raise money to assist under privileged athletes reach their goals. Sydney plans to transfer to Western Washington University majoring in Education.