King’s Fork High School’s Nylah Young and Nansemond River High School’s Aaron Whear earned the Suffolk News-Herald’s Female and Male Player of the Year awards.

The winter season of sports bought forth some incredible individual seasons from athletes across Suffolk. Nylah Young and Aaron Whear were among the top during the 2018-2019 winter season. Both Whear and Young saved their best for last, as both will head to the college level in the fall.

Young takes home the SNH’s Female Player of the Year Award for the second year in a row. She won it as a junior and followed it up with an even better senior campaign. She finished her senior season winning back-to-back Southeastern District Player of the Year to go along with first team All-Region and first team All-State selections. During both seasons, she was the top scorer in the area and averaged 29 points per game this season. Within the first couple of games of the season, she surpassed the 1,000-point career mark. The senior Lady Bulldog arguably had the best performance in Hampton Roads this season when she scored a career-high and school-record 52 points in a game against Great Bridge High School — outscoring the whole Great Bridge team.

“I am beyond grateful for this award and everything I was able to do this year,” Young said. “I worked really hard to get where I am today, and it’s paying off. Being one of the top athletes in my city is an honor.”

Whear had an impressive year for the Warriors wrestling team, as he along with Braxton Lewis was able to bring home the first state titles in more than 20 years for Nansemond River. After a strong junior campaign where Whear finished as a state runner-up, he was able to come out and accomplish everything he set out to do during the winter. This season, Whear surpassed 100 career wins. He went from there and worked his way to take the regional title and then the state title in his weight class this season.

“This year went as well as I had hoped for,” Whear said. “Every day at practice I had winning a state title in my mind. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my God, coaches and teammates. With all the awards and everything that came with this season, I hope I left a legacy at Nansemond River that not only will hard work bring success, but the key is to learn to enjoy what you do.”

Heading into his senior wrestling season, Whear came off an All-District season on the football field.

Young is set to play NCAA Division I basketball at Hampton University, while Whear is still weighing his options about where he will be and what he will play in the future.