Ashley Bower Named Student-Athlete of the Year for 2021-2022

Ashley Bower, a 2022 graduate of Portland High School, has been named the Portland Beacon/J-Dubbs Signature Subs Student-Athlete of the Year for 2021-2022.

Bower was named Student-Athlete of the month for January 2022. In his nomination of Bower at that time, PHS head coach Jason Haid said, “Ashley has averaged 18.1 points and 3.5 steals per game in the month of January leading us in victories over Chelsea, East Lansing and Haslett, all ranked in the state. Ashley also broke the school record for career 3 point makes with 125 total.”

Other awards Bower received this season include:

· Lansing State Journal Player of the Year

· Capital Area All-Star Team

· Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan All-State Team

· Ionia Sentinel Standard Basketball Player of the Year

· All-Conference First Team

Bower, who is also a member of the PHS golf and soccer teams, has committed to play basketball next year at Wayne State University.

J-Dubbs Signature Subs of Portland partnered with The Portland Beacon to sponsor this award. The monthly winners received a free sub of his/her choice from J-Dubbs Signature Subs.

At the conclusion of the 2021-2022 school year, a panel of Beacon contributors selected the Student-Athlete of the Year from our monthly winners.

The monthly winners for the 2021-2022 Student-Athlete of the Month award were:

September - Derec Fedewa SPS Football

October - Laynie Meredith SPS Cross Country

November - Ethan Patrick PHS Football

December - Lydia Meredith SPS Basketball

January - Ashley Bower PHS Basketball

February - Drew Miller PHS Wrestling

March - Jessie Whitford PHS Bowling

April – Kenzie Fedewa SPS Track and Field

May – Noah Simpson PHS Track and Field

June - Sophie Schrauben SPS Track and Field

As part of this honor, Bower will receive a plaque and will receive a free party platter from J-Dubbs Signature Subs.

Scott Day, Director of Operations for J-Dubbs Signature Subs, told the Beacon, “We are very happy to be a part of the Portland community and to sponsor this award that recognizes talented local student-athletes.”

Photo by AJ Guilford.