Simmons Superlatives - Best newcomers

Where I write and how you get my content can change, but doing ‘Best of the Best’ lists at the end of the year will not. I’ve been doing them since 2010 and don’t plan on changing that anytime soon. If anything, the Main Street Journal gives me a chance to expand my categories and lists once again.

So that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Over the next week, I’ll be handing out the Simmons Superlatives for the best newcomers, best seniors, best under-the-radar-athletes, best athlete, best coach, best team and best moments of the 2024-25 season. These will be for high school athletes and high school teams in Warren County, so just keep that in mind if you find yourself wondering why county basketball, WCMS or the great Van Buren County Eaglettes aren’t mentioned.

Just to be clear: These are MY choices in those categories. I don’t run these by co-workers, owners, coaches, athletes or sponsors. These are solely my choices because my name is on them, so if you don’t agree, you can let me know.

With that, we’ll start with the Best Newcomers from the 2024-25 season. Traditionally, this has been the ‘Best Freshman,’ category, but I tweaked it because sometimes there aren’t enough impact freshmen to make a top 5. Also, there are times kids don’t really make their varsity debuts until their sophomore years or – in the case of one baseball kid this year – they transfer into Warren County as a junior.

Let’s get to the list!

Emma Woodlee, WCHS cross country and track

Could it possibly be anybody else on the girls side? If Woodlee wasn’t the best newcomer this year, it would’ve only been because you could make an argument she should just be the best athlete overall (and I don’t like to double up on individual awards – nobody will be on two lists over the next week).

Woodlee set – and reset (and reset again) – the school record in the 5K in the fall, part of a campaign which ended in the state tournament. Woodlee basically stepped foot on WCHS campus as the fastest Lady Pioneer to ever run cross country and ended breaking her own record multiple times, the last coming in regionals when she ran a 20:06 time to qualify for the state tournament.

Woodlee finished a respectable 84^th in the event, recording the seventh-fastest time of the freshmen who qualified. She ran a time of 20:56.77 at the Sanders Ferry Park cross country course.

Woodlee will be trying for a medal this Thursday in Murfreesboro when she competes in the state AAA cross country meet. The star Lady Pioneer surprised the field at sectionals when she clocked the fourth-fastest time in the 3,200-meter race. Woodlee had focused most of her energy on qualifying in the 1,600, but instead broke through when the race length was doubled and she turned in a time of 12:20.

Woodlee is just one of three freshman qualifiers in this week’s race. Centennial junior Larkin Johnson has the fastest qualifying time (10:32.76) in the field.

Natalie Payne, WCHS volleyball and tennis

When it comes to team sports, it can be very difficult to make an impact as a freshman. Natalie Payne found a way to break through in not one, but two different varsity sports this season.

Payne was named to the all-freshman team in volleyball as she garnered major playing time as a middle blocker, then was the No. 6 singles player on the girls tennis team that won a district regular-season championship.

A long and lengthy athlete, Payne excelled in both sports when she was close to the net. In volleyball, she immediately became one of the top blockers for the Lady Pioneers. And on the tennis court, her wins in singles helped the WCHS girls go unbeaten in the regular season.

Cortlyn Porter, WCHS basketball and softball

Porter is another freshman who made an impact on two varsity teams as a freshman. Porter was a spot starter in both basketball and softball, the latter she helped to 14 victories this season.

Porter’s shooting earned some minutes throughout the season for coach Kyle Turnham during a nine-win campaign for the Lady Pioneers, while her bat (she hit .312 in district play) was the reason why she was a designated hitter in softball by the end of the season.

Brynlee Chisam, WCHS volleyball, basketball and softball

A three-sport athlete, Chisam’s big step as a freshman was being a starter by Day 1 on the girls basketball team. While she played mostly a JV role in the fall and spring, Chisam was in the spotlight during the winter, giving Warren County a major building block on the wing and paint as it looks to build back to 20-win seasons in the near future.

Kaydence Wiser, WCHS softball and volleyball

Much like Chisam, Wiser didn’t need to wait very long to hear her name called in her sport of choice. Wiser played in 27-of-28 games for the Lady Pioneer softball team, earning an opening-night start at catcher and never relinquishing the position.

Wiser was also on the freshman volleyball team.