Nick Skiba and Alexis Smith have accomplished a lot during their athletic careers at Alpena High School and those accomplishments were recognized last week when they were named the 2016 Male and Female Athletes of the Year.

“I was very honored, because I thought I put in a lot of hard work and it was nice to see that people in the community and my coaches realized it too,” Smith said.

During her senior year, Smith was a member of the volleyball, girls basketball and softball teams at Alpena and was a member of all three teams for several seasons.

In volleyball, Smith was one of several senior leaders and helped the Wildcats put together a solid season. The same was true with Alpena’s girls basketball team where Smith was once again a leader and helped the Wildcats to a winning season and a second place finish in the Big North Conference.

Smith is an equally important part of the Alpena High softball team where she is the starting catcher and helped a veteran group win its sixth consecutive Big North title a few nights ago.

Smith was an honorable mention during this year’s volleyball and basketball seasons and will look to end her Alpena career on a high note. She will continue her playing career at Alpena Community College next season where she will play basketball for the Lumberjacks.

“I would like to thank my coaches, the community members and of course my parents for all of the support over the years,” Smith said.

Skiba has spent four years as a member of the Alpena baseball team and spent a few years as standout on the basketball team. Along the way he has gained plenty of experience that has gone a long way into helping him develop as an athlete.

“I am extremely honored. There are a lot of guys in my grade that are deserving of this award. It is really nice to see the dedication to my sports pay off,” Skiba said.

As the veteran on Alpena’s boys basketball team this season, Skiba helped the Wildcats through a challenging transition period and earned second team all-conference honors.

Skiba is a leader on the diamond as well. The four-year varsity starter is a standout in center field. Defensively, Skiba is great with his glove and has a cannon for an arm as he has thrown out a number of baserunners at the plate during the season. As one of the team’s leaders, Skiba is hoping to help the Wildcats make a postseason run before his career as a Wildcat ends.

Skiba is currently undecided on where he will continue his sports career next season.

“We’re looking to come back and make a run at a district title. We’re going to put our recent losses behind us and continue to work harder in practice and come back ready to fire in the next two weeks,” Skiba said. “I would like to thank my family for always being there and supporting me. I also would like to thank my coaches who ultimately gave me the opportunity to be where I am today.”

Jonny Zawacki can be reached via email at jzawacki@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5690.