Boykin, Cox receive Student-Athlete of the Year honors
The West Alabama Watchman and the Marengo County Parks and Recreation Board hosted the second annual Marengo County Student-Athlete of the Year Banquet Monday night.
In a fun-filled evening that featured Eli Gold as the guest speaker, hundreds gathered in the fellowship hall of Linden Baptist Church to celebrate 12 award finalists from throughout the county.
The Female Student-Athlete of the Year Award went to Linden High School senior Tomysha Boykin. As a student, Boykin is unmatched in the halls of Linden High. She boasts a 4.0 GPA and a 25 ACT to go along with her valedictorian status and was the Class 1A, Region 2 winner of the Bryant-Jordan Student-Athlete Achievement Award.
Her non-athletic extracurricular involvements have ranged from class president to vice president of the Beta Club to the LHS-UWA STEM Team.
At the top of her class is one thing, but the diminutive dynamo has excelled at three sports in her varsity career. A rotational player in both volleyball and basketball since the seventh grade, Boykin turned in her best seasons as a senior. She averaged five kills, six digs, six aces and a block per game in volleyball. In basketball, she helped her squad to a 22-5 season while averaging 16.1 points, 5.3 assists and 6.1 steals per contest. She also earned ASWA Third Team All-State honors as well as First Team All-County.
Yet, it may actually be track where the future UAB student shined the most as a senior. She was a state qualifier in the 100-meter hurdles. And she owns two state championships as part of the 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams.
Other finalists for the award included Marengo Academy’s Macey Petrey, Marengo High’s LaVonyae Miller, A.L. Johnson’s Akayla McGhee, Sweet Water’s Lara Little and Demopolis High senior Abbey Latham.
The Male Student-Athlete of the Year Award went to Demopolis High School’s R.J. Cox. Cox will play his college baseball with MUW out of Columbus, Mississippi, allowing him the opportunity to help the school build its baseball program from the ground up. He finished his senior season with a .333 average and 22 RBIs as well as a 5-2 record on the mound to go along with a 2.42 ERA and 43 strikeouts over 43 innings.
Cox is also a three-year starter at linebacker for the Demopolis High football team and earned West Alabama Watchman All-County honors in both sports for three consecutive years.
But athletics come nowhere close to being the entirety of Cox’s resume. His tenure at DHS has included National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, DECA, Student Council, National Academy of Finance and Beta Club. He also earned the community service endorsement.
The Class 5A, Region 4 winner of the Bryant-Jordan Student-Athlete Achievement Award, Cox finishes with a 4.2 GPA.
Other finalists included A.L. Johnson’s Deandre Croom, Linden’s C.J. Robinson, Marengo High’s Roosevelt Thompson, Marengo Academy’s Weldon Aydelott and Sweet Water standout Flynn Mabowitz.
The Marengo County Parks and Recreation Board awarded $500 each to the athletic departments of Linden High and Demopolis High as part of the prize package for the winners.