MALE
Alec Burnett, Columbus East senior baseball player
Burnett threw a one-hitter and struck out 13, including the final nine batters he faced, Friday to lead the Olympians to a 9-2 win against East Central in the Shelbyville Sectional semifinals.
His performance last week: “I’m beyond stoked because that was just a postseason performance that my team needed me to be there for, and I feel like I did what I needed to do.”
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Do you do anything special to prepare? “When I’m pitching, I just keep my preparation all the same. I don’t change anything, because then that changes the mindset, and my mindset is the same before every game.”
Favorite drink: “Sweet tea”
Favorite food: “Medium rare steak”
Favorite book: “The Hunger Games series”
Favorite class: “Math. I’m very math minded.”
Role model: “My great-grandfather Eugene Hale. Nobody was stronger than him with his willpower.”
Best advice: “Get your grades right first because that’s the first thing a coach at the next level is going to look at.”
Athletics goal: “In pitching, my goal is to throw lots of strikes and limit walks.”
If you could travel anywhere: “Canada, to bear hunt.”
FEMALE
Madelyn Sanders, Columbus North senior tennis player
Sanders, with No. 1 doubles partner Eva Chevalier, posted straight-set wins against Scottsburg and Bloomington North in the regional and Jasper in the semistate to advance to the Individual Doubles State Finals.
Her performance last week: ”I don’t think we could have played any better. We played some of the best tennis we’ve played the whole season. We definitely put everything out there we had. We were focused the entire weed of practice and did the best we could.”
Do you do anything special to prepare? “I listen to Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself.’ It really gets me motivated, and then I give a speech to the team, and that gets me ready, as well.”
Favorite drink: “Lemonade”
Favorite food: “I really like Mexican food.”
Favorite book: “The Book Thief”
Favorite class: “Calculus”
Role model: “Any of my family members (parents Tony and Christine and older siblings Katelyn, Caroline, Melissa and Anthony). They’re all really inspirational for me.”
Best advice: “Play every match like it’s your last.”
Athletics goal: “I really want to be a state finalist this year.”
If you could travel anywhere: “Somewhere in Europe, probably Austria.”
