By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Bedford North Lawrence’s dynamic senior softball duo of Ava Ratliff and Kendall Graves have been named the school’s female Athletes of the Year by the WBIW.com website.
Ratliff, who will play for Auburn, hit .495 with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs during her final season with the Stars, and she finished as the state’s career home run leader with a remarkable total of 69. She also finished second in state history in career RBIs with 179. She posted a career batting average of .515 while setting the school record with 195 hits.
Graves, en route to Butler, was an offensive force while hitting .515 with 11 homers and 42 RBIs as a senior, and she joined an exclusive list with 50-plus hits in a season.
Both were named All-State by the Softball Coaches Association of Indiana, with Ratliff earning that honor for the fourth time, and both were named to the Indiana South All-Stars. They are the 11th and 12th players in program history to receive that award.
Other notable athletes who enjoyed outstanding seasons included Tori Nikirk (softball and basketball), Paige Voigtschild (cross country and track), Miley Sherrill (basketball), Kinleigh Root (golf), Ava Lipp (swimming), Sammie Gratzer (volleyball) and Trinidy Bailey (volleyball and basketball).
WBIW.com will name a male Athlete of the Year. The list of the Top 10 stories for the 2024-25 school year will also be announced.
