Jeremiah Lewis and Nylah Young were selected the Suffolk News-Herald Winter Players of the Year.

The 2017-2018 winter season for sports saw some very strong individual performances for Suffolk athletes. Young and Lewis were definitely a part of that mixture. Both players stood out on their respective teams and did all they could to help lead their teams to victory nightly.

Young, a junior, had a tremendous season for the King’s Fork High School girls’ basketball team as she stepped into a bigger role. She averaged 20-plus points to go along with more than 10 rebounds to help lead the Lady Bulldogs to co-champions in the Southeastern District. She scored a career-high 41 points against Nansemond River High School, which was the highest point total scored for any Suffolk player in a game this season. She knew heading into this season she was going to have a bigger role, and that motivated her to do the best she could because of it.

Her strong season led to an abundance of postseason accolades that came her way. She was selected the Southeastern District Player of the Year while also being selected first team All-Region and All-State. Before the season set out, she had goals to achieve all of these things, and she did. The biggest goal was to return back to the state championship game and win it, but unfortunately, King’s Fork fell one game short of that.

“All the achievements feel great,” she said. “I try my best to play well every time I step on the floor, and the hard work is starting to pay off. My confidence got stronger, and it showed.”

Lewis, who is also a junior, averaged a double-double for the Nansemond River High School boys’ basketball team and recorded more than 20 double-doubles for the season. His best game this season was a 20-point, 20-rebound game against Great Bridge High School. He was later selected second team All-District when many felt his play warranted a first team selection. Regardless of the accolade, Lewis was humbled to be mentioned among top players in the area. Lewis admits that he was surprising himself as he was racking up double-doubles throughout the season.

“As the season went on, I started to build my confidence, and I kind of instilled a double-double mindset in my head and played with all I had every game,” Lewis said. “I feel extremely blessed that it led to me being recognized for this award.”

Lewis could be described as an undersized post player, but his lack of size never deterred him from playing as hard as he could. He knew he was going to have to out-hustle players who may have been bigger than him in size, and he used his tireless motor to his advantage. Nansemond River did have a lot of team success, but Lewis stood out for the Warriors.

Not only do both players excel on the court but they do off the court as well. It is essential for both players to be the best they can be in the classroom, because they feel it is relative to the success they have on the court. Lewis and Young will return for some anticipated strong senior campaigns.