Poplar Bluff R-1 February athletes of the month

POPLAR BLUFF, MO (KFVS) - The Mules Booster Club at Poplar Bluff High school has made their decision for the February Athletes of the Month. Tyler Cline and Taylor Norwood have been given this month's honor sponsored by Academy Sports and Outdoors.

Tyler, a junior at Poplar Bluff High school, has been exceptional in his academics as well as on the basketball court. He contributed to his team by leading them to the Poplar Bluff Showdown and District championship, with a seasonal record of 18-9 and a SEMO Conference record of 7-1. He averaged 8.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 2 assists per game, and post season: 11.4 points, 3 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2 assists. Most importantly, he did it while maintaining a 9.7 grade point average.

"Tyler has been a joy to coach. He works and plays hard every day," Coach Will Durden said. "He has made great strides in improving the mental and physical areas of his game.

Taylor, a senior at Poplar Bluff High school did very well in swimming this year. Not only did she qualify for state in every event, she was also voted the most valuable player for the SEMO Conference. In four years, she has been undefeated in all of her individual events at the SEMO Conference meet. She has broken the 100 freestyle record and currently holds eight other event records for the Mules. In her career, she has been named All-Conference 16 times and All-State nine times with several honorable mentions in between. Aside from these impressive accolades, she has sustained an 11.0 GPA .

"Taylor displays the highest level of dedication one can give to their sport," her coach Beth Lewis said. "She works extremely hard in and out of the pool. She has been a great addition to the team, and has brought the team to a whole new level of competition."