Alton sophomore Kiyoko Proctor (left) and Civic Memorial senior Sam Buckley (right) both won the Player of the Year award at the 76th Annual Gallatin awards held at the Best Western Premier Hotel in Alton Sunday night.

ALTON - The 76th Annual Gallatin Awards honored some of the best high school basketball players in the Riverbend area last night.

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Held at the Best Western Premier Hotel in Alton, the event featured several major honors including the Player of the Year award for both boys and girls. Other honors included the Free Throw Award, 110 Percent Award, Team Sportsmanship, and Team Most Valuable Players.

Players from Alton High, Marquette Catholic, East Alton-Wood River, Roxana, and Civic Memorial are eligible for the awards.

This year, sophomore Kiyoko Proctor from Alton High was named female Player of the Year while the other side saw Civic Memorial's senior Sam Buckley win the award.

Proctor, part of the exceptional 31-2 Redbirds team, averaged 12.7 points per game and was the team's leading scorer this season with 419 points. That followed up a 409-point campaign as a freshman, which also led her team.

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Proctor is the first Alton girl to win the award since Michaela Herrod did in 2009.

Since 2011, a Civic Memorial girl has won the award: Cassie Endicott (2011), Megkinzie Carter (2012), Megan Trost (2013, 2014), Allie Troeckler (2015, 2016, 2017), Kaylee Eaton (2018), Anna Hall (2019, 2020), Tori Standefer (2021), and Kelpie Zupan (2022).

Buckley was part of a 14-19 Eagles team. A member of the 1,000-point club, he ended his high school career with 1,222 points. In his final season, he averaged a double-double of 16.3 points and 10 rebounds per game. He led the team with 520 points this season.

Buckley becomes the first CM boy to win the award since 1996 when Nic Stotler took home the award.

Other athletes were honored as mentioned before for the Free Throw Award, 110 Percent Award, Team Sportsmanship, and Team Most Valuable Players and the winners go as follows:

  • Free Throw Award (Boys) - Kendall Lavender - Marquette
  • Free Throw Award Girls - Olivia Durbin - CM
  • 110 Percent Award (Boys) - Parker Macias - Marquette
  • 110 Percent Award (Girls) - Jarius Powers - Alton
  • Team Sportsmanship (Boys) - Roxana Shells
  • Team Sportsmanship (Girls) - Alton Redbirds
  • Team MVPs (Boys) - Byron Stampley (Alton), Braden Kline (Marquette), Buckley (CM), Aidan Briggs (Roxana), and Devon Green (EAWR)
  • Team MVPs (Girls) - Proctor (Alton), Haley Rodgers (Marquette), Durbin (CM), Kinsley Mouser (Roxana), and Milla LeGette (EAWR)

The Gallatin awards began in 1946 by honoring the best male basketball player. The event began honoring the best female player in 1994. Dick Erzen of EAWR was the first male POTY in 1946 while Amie Jernigan of Marquette was the first female to win the award in 1994.

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