Lovell High School selects senior athletes of the year

Amee Newman and Preston Nichols have been recognized as the Lovell High School senior athletes of the year.

Newman is best recognized for her running ability but also received praise for her feats on the basketball court. 

Newman is a state championship runner in the 800-meter race and has also won multiple regional championships with her track teammates.  She is the current record holder at Lovell High School for the 1,600-meter race. 

Running coach Caleb Sanders said that she was also an important anchor for several state-placing relay performances in the past four years.

“Amee has a lot of natural running ability which has helped her succeed.  Finding time to run has been difficult for Amee because of her involvement in other sports seasons, but she has worked at improving when she has the chance.  She has attended running camps and gone on individual runs in the summer to improve herself.  Her training goals have included long stretches of consecutive days of running,” Sanders said.  “The pressure to succeed in the sport has been challenging, but Amee has committed to continue her running career by running cross-country and track for Utah Valley University.  She will see vast improvements if she sticks to the sport and challenges herself to compete with collegiate athletes.

“I personally am proud of her many running accomplishments at Lovell High School and look forward to following her progress at UVU,” Sanders concluded. 

In basketball, Newman is a four-year letter winner for the Lady Bulldog program and has started varsity for two and a half years. 

“Her natural athleticism allowed her to be a tough defender in the open floor and also gave her the ability to go rim to rim faster than almost any team we faced.  Her conditioning level gave her the ability to play hard for long stretches of time without wearing down,” Coach Chris Edwards said in comments submitted.  “Amee played the point guard position for us, which put a lot of pressure on her to handle the
basketball against pressure and get us into our offenses in the halfcourt.”

Newman led the team in assists and steals over the last two seasons and was in the top three within the team for points and rebounds per game.

According to volleyball coach Stormy Jameson, Newman was an all-conference player her junior year, leading the team in kills, and was honored as team captain her senior year, also gaining honorable mention all-conference. 

Nichols

Preston Nichols found success on both the football field and the track.

In track he was a two-time state champion in the sprint medley, first in 2021 and then again this year.  He placed third in 2021 in the 4x800-meter relay.  He also was recognized as an all-state competitor in the 800-meter sprint in 2022.  This year, alongside
his state championship placing, he also achieved fourth place in the 800-meter spring and the 4x400-meter relay. 

In football, he was invited to the Shrine Bowl, recognized as one of the best high school players of the region, and also placed on the second team of the Super 25 team.  He was awarded once with all-state recognition and was recognized as all-conference twice. 

“He’s a gritty runner.  He runs some tough races and pushes himself to the max,” Josh Sanders, track coach, said. 

Lovell football coach Nicc Crosby praised Nichols for his willingness to take on work that doesn’t often get as much recognition. 

“Preston didn’t get as many individual accolades as some of his teammates in football, but he has been such a key contributor and has done so much of the dirty work for us on both sides of the ball during his football career,” Crosby said.  “He did a great job getting our front seven aligned and making tackles, over 250, his past three seasons from his middle linebacker position.  Along with the big guys in the trenches, most of our rushing yards the last two seasons have come running behind him at fullback.  In addition to being a great athlete of outstanding character, he is also one of the most selfless players I  have coached.”