This year's Scrappy Moore Female Athlete of the Year finalists include nationally rated college prospects, multisport stars and players who dominated their selected sport.
The six finalists are Baylor's Syd Berzon, Arts & Sciences' Alayah Dozier, Heritage's Rachel Gibson, East Hamilton's Madison Hayes, Gordon Lee's Gracie O'Neal and Baylor's Makayla Packer.
The 2019 Best of Preps banquet is set for Tuesday evening at the Chattanooga Convention Center, with doors opening at 6.
Berzon, only a freshman this past school year, already has committed to LSU's softball program and helped Baylor win its fifth consecutive state title. She finished 20-2 with a 0.75 ERA, striking out 213 batters in 112 innings pitched, and batted .423 with five home runs and 46 RBIs.
Dozier won every sprint event in which she competed at the Small Class state track meet. The junior won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes and also ran the anchor leg for the Lady Patriots' first-place 4x400 relay team.
Gibson, a sophomore pitcher, led the Lady Generals to Georgia's Class AAAA softball state title with a 21-1 record, a 1.29 ERA and 238 strikeouts in 140 innings. She also batted .400 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs.
Hayes won Tennessee's Class AAA Miss Basketball award as a junior after averaging 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, four steals, 3.6 assists and 3.1 blocks a game. Ranked as the state's top college prospect and the nation's No. 24 prospect by espnW for the 2020 class, she helped the United States win the under-18 3-on-3 World Cup last week in Mongolia. She also was an all-region honoree in volleyball after totaling 266 kills and 297 digs.
O'Neal won Georgia state track championships in the 1600- and 3200-meter runs as a junior and also earned a Class A state cross country championship with a 5k time of 20 minutes, 56.63 seconds. Earlier in the season she ran a personal-best 19:15.
Packer, who has committed to Auburn's softball program, batted .456 with four doubles, four home runs, 14 RBIs and 31 runs scored to help the Lady Red Raiders win the Division II-AA state title. Also a track standout, the junior repeated as state champion in the 200 and finished second in the 100 and 4x100 relay and third in the 4x200 relay.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.