Burns, Edgar, Slapinski earn top FHS senior athletic awards

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

Zach Burns and Hailee Edgar were named Fernley High School’s top senior athletes for the 2017-18 school year, while Lonnie Slapinski earned the award presented to the athlete who has overcome the most.

Burns was named the winner of the 2017-18 Iron Man Award, while Edgar was the winner of the Iron Woman Award.

Iron Man/Woman goes to the highest achieving senior athletes who are 4-year three-sport athletes and takes into account each person’s successes as an athlete, leader and student.

Slapinksi was named the winner of the Brian Beaty Award, which is presented to the senior athlete who has achieved the most despite limitations or obstacles. It is named after former Fernley football player Brian Beaty, who overcame injuries throughout his career to become an all-league player as a senior. He was later killed in a car crash.

Dave and Farrah Alexander were named Fans of the Year.

Burns quarterbacked the Vaqueros football team to an 8-0 Northern 3A league record and their first league championship in 21 years. He then led the basketball team to a berth in the Northern 3A Region Tournament despite missing much of the first half of the season with an ankle injury, and was a key player on the baseball team that narrowly missed qualifying for the region tournament.

Edgar played golf as a senior, then led the girls basketball team to the regional tournament and helped the softball team to a regular-season league championship.

Slapinski, who describes himself as weak, fat and unathletic when he entered high school, transformed himself into a first-team All-League offensive lineman last fall, and finished second in the heavyweight division at the 3A State Wrestling Tournament.