ATHLETES OF THE YEAR: Versatile Sladek, Boyd take top honor

Sydney Sladek and Devonte Boyd don’t have much in common, but they do share one trait.

Each knows how to light up a scoreboard.

Sladek, who recently finished her junior year at Pahrump Valley, set a state record for goals in a season while leading the Trojans girls soccer team to its second straight state title.

Boyd led Southern Nevada in touchdown receptions as a senior at Basic.

Those accomplishments helped the two-sport standouts claim the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s athlete of the year awards.

“It’s definitely rewarding because we wake up at 6 a.m. every day in the summer and practice,” Sladek said of she and her teammates. “To see it all come together was cool.”

Sladek scored four goals against Western on Oct. 22 to break the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association record of 65 goals in a season, set by Truckee’s Becca Shook in 1999.

Sladek finished with 78 goals, including two in a 3-0 victory over Faith Lutheran in the Division I-A state final.

Her feat was recognized in the “Faces in the Crowd” section of the Jan. 14 issue of Sports Illustrated.

“I’ve been around girls who are talented, but they usually know it and expect special benefits,” Pahrump Valley girls soccer coach Pamela Larmouth said. “She’s not that way. Her teammates would treat her like that, but she doesn’t allow it.”

Sladek, who has given an oral commitment to play at Southern California, is used primarily as an attacking midfielder to take advantage of her creativity on the ball.

But with opposing teams designating one player — and sometimes two — to try to neutralize her, Sladek occasionally would move to the wing or even defense to open space for teammates.

“Because of her stamina, she is able to be in the action everywhere,” Larmouth said.

That stamina also was apparent on the track, where she won the Division I-A state title in the 800 meters and finished fourth in the 1,600. She also anchored the 1,600 and 3,200 relays as the Trojans finished second in the team standings.

Sladek’s time of 2 minutes, 13.96 seconds in the 800 was the second-fastest time in the state, regardless of division.

“One of the reasons I like track is if I mess up, it’s all on me, and if I do good, it’s all on me,” Sladek said. “There’s no one to blame but myself.”

Boyd, a UNLV signee, finished the season with 18 touchdown catches on his way to being named first-team all-state for the second consecutive year.

The 6-foot-2-inch, 175-pound Boyd, who came to the Las Vegas Valley in 2009 to escape the post-Hurricane Katrina violence in New Orleans, also led the area with 1,081 yards on 66 receptions.

“I think I can be another weapon they can use,” Boyd said before signing with the Rebels in February. “And by me being fresh, no injuries and a freshman, I’m already motivated to work hard. I’m hungry. I want to play, I want to help the team, I want to win.”

Boyd also was a standout on the basketball court as a senior, averaging a team-best 13.9 points and 3.9 assists along with 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals.

Boyd was a first-team All-Southeast League selection, leading the Wolves to the Sunrise Region playoffs, but his future is on the football field.

“He’s a great route runner, and he’s got great hands,” Basic football coach Jeff Cahill said. “He was quiet when he first got here being new and everything. As the years went on, he grew into that leader.

“By his senior year, he was somebody everybody was looking at ... to lead our team, and he did a good job.”