Melton Named OCA Athlete of the Year

In this era of athletic specialization, multi-sport standouts are rare.

Sure, it's not uncommon for high school athletes to compete in more than one sport but you don't find that many that participate in three sports. Much less at the highest level.

That's one of the biggest things that set Anadarko's Tyler Melton apart from other athletes in the state this year and a major factor in the extremely athletic student athlete being named the Oklahoma Coaches Association's Athlete of the Year.

Melton was a key cog in one of the greatest athletic year's in Anadarko school history that included a state championship in football and state runner-up in basketball and semifinal finish in baseball. With Melton helping lead the way the Warriors combined for a 65-12 overall record - 15-0 in football, 25-2 in basketball and 25-10 in baseball.

As the Warriors' starting quarterback he completed 92 of 132 passes (70 percent) for 1,786 yards, 21 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Melton also ran for 527 yards and five scores.
Moving on to the basketball court, he earned All-State honors in sparking the Warriors on the perimeter with 10.8 points, five assists and over three steals per contest.

Then on the baseball diamond, Melton posted a .369 batting average that included six doubles, 22 runs scored, 24 RBI and 11 stolen bases. He was also 3-0 on the mount with a 1.42 ERA and held opponents to a .188 batting average.

All pretty impressive honors for a talent that had opportunities to go to college and play just about anything he wanted before settling on baseball.

Maybe even more impressively, while juggling all his athletic activities Melton maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA and was named valedictorian of his graduating class.

article updated on 05/30/12 23:14