MISSOULA — Well at long last, it's the final day of the 2022 KPAX Sports Awards.
You've heard from all 10 of our finalists this year, and on Tuesday evening we celebrated their accomplishments, both athletically and academically, at the KPAX Sports Awards banquet at the Holiday Inn in downtown Missoula, as well as announced the winners of the award as voted on by the Honors Court, and the winners of this year's KPAX Sports Awards, are Brooke Stayner and Chase Williams from Sentinel High School.
Both Brooke and Chase will receive $1,000 scholarships to the schools of their choice.
For Brooke, that'll be right here in town at the University of Montana where she'll compete in track and field, while Chase is headed east to MIT where he will also play on the football team.
The banquet made its return to Missoula for the first time since 2019 where these athletes were celebrated, and thanks to everyone who attended this year's event. Lady Griz assistant coach and former Big Sky High School and Stanford standout Joslyn Tinkle was the keynote speaker. John Brauer was awarded the Ray Rocene Sportsman of the Year Award for his work as a volunteer in the community. Current Hellgate boys soccer coach Jay Anderson was awarded the Ed Chinske Award for his work with the Knights program, and former Hellgate girls soccer coach Geoffrey Birnbaum was awarded the Campbell-Buzzetti Award — also known as the Old Pro Award — for his work with youth soccer in Missoula.
Congratulations to the winners and congratulations to all of our finalists for this year's awards.
It's been an honor covering your careers here in Missoula, and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
To see the profiles on the finalists again, check out the following stories:
Valley Christian's Katelyn Bell and Eyan Becker
Loyola's Natalie Clevenger and Connor Hansen
Hellgate's Kensey May and Ian Finch
