2024-25 Preps Year in Review: All-Interview Team

Theres nothing worse for a reporter during an interview than getting short, bland, sometimes two-word answers.

With these athletes, we never had to worry about that.

Here are some of the athletes who made our jobs easier and more enjoyable, via preps coordinator Zach Piatt: Kellen Davis Centennial Whenever The News-Gazette needed a quote for a Centennial football or boys basketball story, or maybe one of the Chargers to do a radio spot, Davis was the go-to guy.

It was always a pleasure talking with Davis, whether it was after helping the Chargers win a crucial Big 12 Conference game, becoming the football programs all-time leading scorer or announcing his commitment to North Central College football.

Addi Eisenmann Mahomet-Seymour Energy, energy and more energy.

Prior to helping the Bulldogs win a Class 3A state volleyball title, Eisenmann told The News-Gazette her on-court superpower was being the teams hype girl, and that translated into her interviews.

Always excited to chat, Eisenmann was one of many Bulldogs we got to know throughout their historic run, and she had plenty of fun stories to share from all their success.

Kaitlyn Helm Champaign Central Helm was the voice of the Champaign Central softball team, and you could tell during conversations that she was more determined to lead the Maroons to a regional title than anyone was about anything else this year.

They made it happen, and she also did a lot of the talking for her reserved sister, Haley Helm, after Haley won our All-Area Softball Player of the Year award, teasing her the whole time.

Austin Kasper Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Thanks to Kasper, we were able to tell a pretty cool story about optimism and perseverance.

He was sidelined his junior season with a broken wrist but came back for his senior season and helped the Falcons football team reach the Class 1A state quarterfinals and the boys basketball team make a run to the Sweet 16.

Along the way, Kasper couldnt help but smile and crack jokes every time he talked with us.

Megan Martin Watseka Even with Watseka High School being more than an hour northeast of Champaign, we got to know Martin pretty well every season when shed make the trip to Champaign for our Faces events.

On those days, she was always having fun and making other people laugh.

Just a great kid to have around, and she made us even bigger fans with her great senior year in volleyball, basketball and track and field.

Lia Patterson Tuscola Getting tired of reading her name yet? We clearly arent, and its largely due to what an absolute joy Patterson is to talk to each and every time.

Her dominance on the track is evident, but she might be an even more quality person.

Her smile is certainly one of the biggest in the area, and its infectious.

Pattersons smile lights up a room, and when she does, you cant help but show your own teeth, too.

Sid Pfoff Fisher The Fisher/Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley boys soccer team made history last fall, reaching the Class 1A sectional finals for the first time, and we were there every step of the way.

And so was Pfoff.

Along with being one of the teams vocal leaders, he also led by example, scoring 31 goals, so he was a popular interview choice.

A perfect example of how to handle the media game in and game out.

Matt Swartz Monticello A second season-ending knee injury in a 13-month span prevented Swartz from playing in the Sages Class 3A state championship football game last fall, and it was a painful sight watching him hobble his way out of a team meeting on crutches for one last interview.

Despite his setbacks, the Monticello captain treated every interview like a pro, and he had a genuine curiosity in those asking the questions.

Aiden White Westville We only got the chance to talk to White once this year, but boy, was it a pleasure.

He won our Athlete of the Week vote in February after putting up some insane basketball numbers, and if you listened to our ensuing phone call, you would have thought he had just won a state title.

He was at a loss for words for winning, giving credit to the other finalists, and he just exuded such joy in the accomplishment.

Bo Zeleznik LeRoy Whenever we finished talking to the standout LeRoy quarterback, wrestler and baseball player, it felt like we had just interviewed an Ivy League graduate wanting a job at NASA.

He had a philosophical way of roping us into our own conversation.

Invigorating, really.

He showed a authentic interest in how we went about our stories and was always grateful of the coverage.

A true reporters dream..

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