This banner year produced a young man who may one day play in the NBA and another who has the potential to grace a major league baseball diamond. Neither was selected as Rowan County Male Athlete of the Year.

Instead, that honor goes to East Rowan multi-sport marvel Danny Misenheimer.

Misenheimer, award winner for a second straight year, narrowly outpolled the basketball prodigy (West’s Scooter Sherrill) and the baseball whiz (North’s Daniel Moore) in voting conducted by Rowan Baseball Inc., the organization that sponsors the annual awards for the county’s top athletes. Each county school nominates one male and one female candidate. A seven-person voting panel from R.B.I. then awards three points for first place, two for second and one for third to determine a winner.

Misenheimer tallied 16 points, including four first-place votes. Sherrill had two firsts and 13 points. Moore, who had one vote for first, also had 13 points. The other nominees were South’s mighty mite wrestling, football and track standout Keith Garrett and Salisbury football and basketball star Terry Johnson.

All except Garrett, a rising senior, were part of the Class of 2000.

“It’s a great honor,” says Misenheimer. “Scooter was just unstoppable when I faced him in football. When I played basketball against him back in Junior Hornets, I tried to slow him down, but all I ever did was foul him. Hey, he’s an All-American.

“Daniel (Moore) is my cousin. What can I say, except he was player of the year in the state. I know Garrett from wrestling. One time, him and this other guy were both walking around the locker room in my singlet.”

In the voting for the county’s top female athlete, West’s Kari Schenk was an overwhelming choice. It’s an indication of just how special Schenk is, that she outpolled North track phenom LaTasha Pharr, who may one day compete for Olympic gold.

Schenk, a finalist for athlete of the year in the state, accumulated six first-place votes and 20 points. Pharr, last year’s county queen, was second with 12 points. East track, cross country and basketball standout Brooke Misenheimer was third with nine points and had a first-place vote. The other nominees were Salisbury basketball star Sherree Gillespie and South’s Meredith Bost, one of the county’s best in softball, volleyball and swimming.

All are 2000 grads, with the exception of Pharr, a rising senior.

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Danny Misenheimer’s legend dates back to his first day at East when he was assigned an upstairs locker with the jayvees prior to the initial football practice.

An hour or so of mass destruction later, Misenheimer had been moved downstairs with the varsity.

The 265-pound mound of muscle built on that mythical debut to become an all-state lineman and the county defensive player of the year as a senior. He was a two-way terror every fall Friday night for four years.

“The best things in football were seeing those kids in the hospital the week of the Shrine Bowl and making the Bigger, Faster, Stronger Magazine All-American team,” says Misenheimer, who also posted a big, strong GPA of 3.8.

Misenheimer’s wrestling impact was enormous. He won the 3A heavyweight division this season after two near misses and was named Wrestler of the Year for the entire state. He set a state record for wins, finishing at 173-13.

“He dominated like no other,” says his coach, Barry Justus. “He had many forfeits, because opponents were literally afraid to step on the mats with him.”

Misenheimer, who bench presses well more than 400 pounds, capped an equally brilliant track career with a state title in the shot put, giving him individual state titles in two sports, a feat which may be unprecedented in Rowan.

Misenheimer has talent, but is largely self-made. Drive by the East field house at any hour and his vehicle will be parked there. He pumps iron relentlessly. The force behind Danny has always been his dad, Darrell, once a record-setting track man and Shrine Bowl footballer himself. Darrell pushed hard and his boy always responded with his best.

“Danny’s accomplishments may never be duplicated,” says Justus. “But Danny is only getting started. I’m just gonna sit back and enjoy the show.”

Misenheimer has accepted a full track and wrestling scholarship offer from Appalachian State.

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There’s no doubt that the 5-7 Schenk, who by the way, weighs 145 fewer pounds than the big guy, does as many things superbly as any female in county history. Named to nine all-conference teams in four different sports, Schenk was a winning combination of quickness and competitiveness. She was outstanding in soccer, volleyball and softball (she was a dominating left-handed shortstop as a freshman), but it was basketball that she loved and where she reached the heights.

She was the basketball player of the year in the county for 2000 and will play in the East-West All-Star game this summer. Her familiar No. 32 jersey was retired by the school at West’s graduation. She’s No. 3 in school history in scoring.

Schenk’s favorite all-time moment is still getting her 1,000th point late in her junior year.

“Because that was a goal that I set when I started out in elementary school,” she says.

Schenk adds that her final Rowan accolade is one she’ll treasure, “because of the competition.”

“It’s an honor, especially with LaTasha being up for it,” she said. “I played against her in basketball and she’s just so quick. I’d love to see her in the Olympics.

“Sherree was great, too. We could never stop her. We hated to see her, because we knew she was going to cause us to get yelled at, at halftime. Brooke and I had some great battles.

Like Danny, Schenk is headed to Appalachian, but doesn’t plan to play hoops— at least her first year. She’s fought off the hoops recruiters so far, but is preparing for another wave of them during East-West week.

“I don’t mind ‘em,” says Schenk. “The attention is fun. “I don’t know, maybe I’ll walk on at App someday because I know I’m gonna miss basketball. When the West girls went to camp this summer, I felt strange — like I should be with them.”