This spring marks the second annual Chompy’s award ceremony. This ceremony is designed to celebrate Green Level athletics and the achievements adhered throughout the duration of the year. This process has five distinct categories: female athlete of the year, male athlete of the year, team of the year, coach of the year, and best sports moment.
Nominees for female athlete of the year include Ava-Marie Callahan (gymnast), Caroline Dobrowski (gymnast), Jane Moore (soccer), Claire Barber (basketball), Talian Francom (volleyball), and Stella Ekhart (basketball and soccer). Callahan won a state championship and yet another state title for All-Around. Dobrowski celebrated a state championship and individually won state titles for scoring a perfect 10 on both bars and beam. Moore broke the Green Level women’s soccer record for most goals in a season. Claire Barber, a junior, had an outstanding season, leading the team with 18 points and five rebounds per game. She ended the season with 530 total points and is a mere 31 points away from a 1,000-point career. Furthermore, she was second in all of class 4A with 89 made three pointers and named to the SWAC team and NCBCA 1st-Team All-District.
Concluding female athlete acknowledgements, Francom led the volleyball team in kills this year and assisted her team in advancing to the 4AA East regional semifinals. Lastly, Stella Ekhart, a multisport athlete, broke the women’s basketball record with 117 total steals this season and was named to the SWAC All-Conference team. In her most recent endeavors, she is one of four women’s soccer players with 10 or more goals and just recently won All-Conference for SWAC women’s soccer.
Transitioning to male athlete of the year, the nominees are Isaac Ericksen, Izzy Eatman, Will Estes, Rishit Sharma, Tommy Gingerich, and Leo O’Keefe. Similar to the women, each of these athletes had immensely accomplished seasons and should be celebrated regardless of the award outcome.
Ericksen was nominated in light of being the 2024-2025 SWAC Player of the Year. Additionally, he was named to the All-District 1st Team and was a North Carolina All-Star. To name a few of Eatman’s accomplishments, he averaged 15 points and four rebounds per game and was named to the All-District 2nd Team. Estes, a multisport athlete, is a tough competitor in football, wrestling, and lacrosse. In football, he led the team with 67 tackles and was in the top ten in the state. In the winter, he won an NCHSAA regional championship in his weight class and qualified for the 2025 NCHSAA Wrestling state finals. He also has many compliments for his spring season, finishing the regular lacrosse season with 34 ground balls.
Sharma claimed an impressive 2025 SWAC singles championship and an NCHSAA 4A individual regional title this spring for men’s tennis. Moving back to wrestling, Tommy won a regional championship in his weight class, as well as qualified for the NCHSAA 4A wrestling state finals and finished fifth overall. Lastly, for men’s nominees, Leo finished second in the 100 backstroke and seventh in the 100 freestyle at the NCHSAA 4A men’s swimming state finals. Her will continue his swimming career at William and Mary in the fall.
Yet another acclaimed category highlighted throughout the Chompy’s is the team of the year. Gymnastics, men’s basketball, women’s golf, volleyball, women’s cross country, men’s swim and dive, and stunt were all nominated and recognized for their vast and unparalleled triumphs this school year.
Gymnastics won its second state championship, giving Green Level four state titles in its first six years of athletics and academics. Men’s basketball won the Southwest Wake Athletic Conference regular-season championship for the second year in a row. They added to this accomplishment by winning their first program SWAC tournament title. Women’s golf won its third straight Southwest Wake Athletic Conference title and qualified for the NCHSAA 4A state finals, finishing 10th in the state.
Volleyball, with a perfect 14-0 record in conference play, won the SWAC championship and advanced far in the NCHSAA Class 4A playoffs. In the theme of championships, cross country won their third-straight SWAC title and won the 4A regional championship for the first time in program history. These accolades are prevalent amongst all talented teams, as the swim and dive team secured a SWAC championship, making this their second consecutive conference title.
Most notably, Stunt advanced to the Wake County Championships for the fourth-straight year and went undefeated in conference play, securing yet another SWAC championship. This team cannot be stopped!
To briefly cover the final categories of the Chompy’s, the coach of the year nominees are as follows: Slater Mapp (men’s tennis), Sam Sopko (Cheer), John Green (Men’s Basketball), Jody Barish (Cross Country), Michelle Alquist (Women’s Tennis), and Kathryn Buckley (Gymnastics). Finally, for the best moment, gymnastics was nominated for winning its 2nd state title, men’s basketball for winning the SWAC tournament, and men’s tennis for knocking off the number 1 seed, Green Hope, twice. Moreover, women’s cross country was recognized for winning SWAC and regional championships, women’s golf for winning three straight SWAC championships, and Stunt for completing a perfect season and securing yet another SWAC championship.
With such a competitive conference and athletes, and with a greatly accomplished athletics program, the decision-making process is difficult and time-consuming. Curious to see the factors that contribute to the nominations, I sought out Colin Fegely, athletics director. Fegeley emphasizes, “We usually begin with making a long list of everyone we can think of that would perhaps be eligible for any of the awards. It’s usually Mr. Connett and I. Then we take that award and share it with the varsity coaches. We get their feedback and then, using their thoughts, we kind of craft the list and try to come up with five or six nominees in each category.”
It is clear that the process for nominating athletes for the Chompys is detail-oriented, intricate, and thoughtful, ensuring that each eligible athlete is considered, alongside the advice of the school’s valued head coaches. Fegeley emphasizes wanting this event to remain a tradition throughout the school’s athletic history, while expanding on the ceremony. He envisions adding more categories in the coming years, potentially an assistant coach of the year category, as well as a community service award for teams that partake in dedication games.
The 2025 Chompys Winners are as follows: Will Estes for male athlete of the year, Claire Barber for female athlete of the year, Sam Sopko for coach of the year, Stunt won best moment and team of the year. Estes states, “I was very, very excited when Connett surprised me with the award. It was a fun presentation and a unique way to distribute it. It was a really cool experience.” He then discerns that the Chompys’ has been a fulfilling process for him, as he feels like his hard work was recognized. He shows pride in this milestone. This is not unique to him, however. Each winner expresses their unwavering gratitude for an opportunity to be recognized school-wide and to be considered for such an achievement.
For this reason, both Connett and Fegley’s work is important. Athletes are motivated to excel and continuously show up for their program, as their many accolades are acknowledged. This ceremony is also a testament to the dedication of Green Level’s student athletes and their incredible ability to balance rigorous workloads with the physical exhaustion of playing a fall, winter, or spring sport. The Chompys are anticipated to be a long lasting tradition, embedded throughout Green Level’s school culture. In this way, there is much to look forward to in the future of the Gator’s athletics.
