Backspin August 2018 | Page 29

North Oaks Health System recognizes 2017-18 student-athletes of the year The North Oaks Sports Medicine team and North Oaks Physician Group orthopaedic surgeons are pleased to announce that Jazmyn Womack of Ponchatoula High School, Kade Bleakley of St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Catholic High School along with Alana Chandler and Sawyer Blankenship of Springfield High School, have received 2017-18 Student-Athletes of the Year honors. Recipients were selected from all Student-Athletes of the Month for both Tangipahoa and Livingston parishes based on the number of votes received via an online poll conducted June 18-22, at www.northoaks.org. Jazmyn Womack recently graduated from Ponchatoula High School. She was a strong forward for the Lady Waves basketball team and a four-year letterman in the sport. She is a member of the Ponchatoula High School’s 1,000 Points Club and has signed with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Ragin’ Cajuns women’s basketball team. Honors amassed during her high school career include: belonging to the 2015 Division I State Championship team, All-State honorable mention recognition for the 2016-17 season, being named to the All-District team as a sophomore and junior and selection to the All- Parish Tournament team for the past two years. In her senior year, she was honored as the 2017-18 district MVP and named to the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s All-State second team for Class 5A. In the 2017-18 season, Womack recorded seven double doubles in points and rebounds. She averaged 18 points and eight rebounds per game. Lady Waves Head Basketball Coach Patricia Landaiche points to Womack’s game highs, including: 30 points and nine rebounds against South Lafourche High School, 25 points and 10 rebounds against Ouachita Parish High School and forty-one points and nine rebounds versus district rival Hammond High Magnet School. Off the court, Womack belongs to the Student Council, Interact Club and National Honor Society. “Jazmyn was always eager to help others and was involved in numerous community service activities through her school club memberships and the Lady Waves basketball team,” asserts Landaiche. “During the floods of 2016 and 2017, she volunteered in her community and with the local Humane Society. She also has participated in adopting a family for Christmas with her basketball teammates.” St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Catholic High School’s Kade Bleakley played basketball for the Falcons for four years. As a point guard, he netted 18 points versus Archbishop Rummel High School, 10 points against Lee Magnet High School and 23 points versus Parkview Baptist High School this past season. Bleakley also belonged to the National Honor Society, Beta Club, Key Club, Light Team and Campus Ministry. He served St. Thomas as a school ambassador and as a Wendy’s High School Heisman school representative. Head Basketball Coach Raymone Andrews notes that Bleakley always made time to help his teammates with homework or studying for a test. Alana Chandler graduated from Springfield High School as Student of the Year with a 4.5 GPA. She plans to study Civil Engineering and Business at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. As a center/power forward in her fourth year of play for the Lady Bulldogs basketball team, she scored a stat line of five points, six rebounds and two assists this past season. “Alana managed the locker room with the best of them — controlling and conducti ng herself with class, showing compassion for others, motivating a young team and leading by example with ultimate effort and hustle on the court,” remarks Lady Bulldogs Head Basketball Coach Byron Garner. “She was a coach’s dream as it pertains to receiving constructive criticism and being accountable for on- and off-the-court issues.” In addition to playing basketball, Chandler was a Springfield High School cheerleader and member of the golf team. She was recognized as an All-American cheerleader and also was active in Beta Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Builders Club, Leadership Council and the Livingston Parish Talented Arts Program in the discipline of theater. Sawyer Blankenship graduated from Springfield High School. He played quarterback and linebacker for the football team and also ran track. A regional qualifier and District MVP in both sports, he also belonged to the Beta Club, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. “Sawyer has been a significant part of our program for four years,” notes Head Football Coach Ryan Serpas. With more than 100 service hours, Blankenship served as a youth group leader at Community Church of Springfield and tutors special needs students. Blankenship was junior class president and received the Masonic Lodge Honesty and Integrity Award. He belonged to the school’s Media Team and is certified in digital media, Intro to Business Computer Applications and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). To learn more about North Oaks Sports Medicine or the Student- Athlete of the Month/Year program, call North Oaks Public Relations at (985) 230-6647 or visit www. northoaks.org/sportsmedicine.