North Carolina High School Athletic Association
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2023-2024 NCHSAA Female and Male Athletes of the Year

GREENSBORO – The North Carolina High School Athletic Association is proud to announce the winners of the Pat Best Memorial Award for the Male and Female Athletes of the Year.

The 2023-24 winners are Emma Clark from West Rowan High School and Kendre Harrison from Reidsville High School.

Emma Clark had a wonderful career in volleyball, basketball, and softball.

In volleyball, she was All-State in her junior and senior years as well as being the Rowan County and South Piedmont 3A Conference Player of the Year in her Senior Year. She had 391 kills this year to give her 935 for her career.

In basketball, she was named All-Conference and helped her team to a 31-0 record and 3A NCHSAA State Championship. In the title game, she was named both the Sportsmanship Award Winner as well as the West Most Outstanding Player as she scored 13 points and added 12 rebounds. 

In softball, she hit .542 with 52 RBIs and 15 home runs this season and finished her career with 43 home runs and 154 RBIs. She was named All-State in 2022 and 2023 and holds the single-season and career home run records for Rowan County.

Next year, she will continue her softball career at the University of Tennessee.

Kendre Harrison has had a remarkable high school career and is just a rising junior.

In football, he had 62 catches for 940 yards and 16 touchdowns this year, including two in the 2A NCHSAA State Championship Game, where he was named Offensive MVP. He also had 70 tackles this season, including 17 for loss and eight sacks.

He averaged 19.4 points, 15.1 rebounds, and nearly four blocks per game in basketball. He scored 19 points on 12 shots and had 13 rebounds and five blocks in the 2A NCHSAA State Championship Game, where he was, once again, named MVP. 

He has a trophy case full of accomplishments, including, most recently, being named the MaxPreps Male National Athlete of the Year.