Vote: Who is the 2023-24 Taunton Daily Gazette Male Athlete of the Year?

Another eventful year of high school sports has come and gone in the Greater Taunton area.

While no local boys team took home a state title this past school year, several local wrestlers , runners and throwers were crowned state champions. A few league titles were captured, one a first since 2013 , while another team made an underdog run all the way to the Final Four, one had its best season in decades and a local basketball star became the area's latest member of the 1,000 points club .

With all of those accomplishments and more, now its up to our readers to vote for the 2023-24 Taunton Daily Gazette Male Athlete of the Year. Choose from 20 nominees, with polls are through noon on Aug. 4.

Here are the nominees:

David Anghinetti, Dighton-Rehoboth

The Wheaton-bound Boys Tennis Player of the Year went 11-4 for the Falcons this spring, with nine wins coming at first singles and the other two coming at second.

Adam Bastis, Dighton-Rehoboth/Seekonk

The Boys Hockey Player of the Year led both the Falcon Warriors and the Greater Taunton area in scoring with 28 goals and 18 assists for a total of 46 points.

Kauan Bento, Bridgewater-Raynham

The Stonehill-bound athlete was both a Boys Indoor Track All-Scholastic and a Boys Track and Field All-Scholastic, as well as a member of the football team. In the winter, he finished second overall in the 55 meter (0:06.46, personal best) at the Division 2 Championship. In the spring, he finished third in the 100 meter (0:11.01) and eighth in the 200 meter (0:22.72) at the Division 2 Championship.

Jacob Bettencourt, Bristol-Plymouth

The Wilkes University-bound athlete was both a Wrestling All-Scholastic and a Football Second Team All-Scholastic, as well as a member of the lacrosse team. It was on the mat where he made his biggest impact, becoming the first ever Craftsman to win a Division 2 individual title, doing so in the 144 lb. weight class.

Cole Bridges, Bridgewater-Raynham

The Boys Swimmer of the Year , as well as a member of both the soccer and track and field teams, he went undefeated in the pool in solo events this winter. His best times for the season include 0:24.65 in the 50 yard freestyle and 0.54.01 in the 100 yard freestyle, both of which rank among the top 10 times in Trojan history.

Joel DaSilva, Dighton-Rehoboth

The senior wrapped up a strong high school career being named both a Football All-Scholastic and Track and Field All-Scholastic, and was also a member of the indoor track team. At quarterback, he went 87-for-158 passing for 1,312 yards, 15 touchdowns and three interceptions while also rushing 38 times for 282 yards and a touchdown. In the spring, he was crowned the South Coast Conference champion in the 400 meter hurdles (0:58.43, personal best) and was part of the relay team that broke the school record in both the 4x200 meter (1:32.05) and the 4x400 meter (3:30.27).

Ryan Donovan, Bristol-Plymouth

Both a Football All-Scholastic and Basketball All-Scholastic, he led the way for the Craftsmen on the gridiron and the court. At quarterback, he rushed for over 600 yards and nine touchdowns while throwing for over 300 yards and five touchdowns. At guard, he helped lead the offense and showed up big in rivalry games, dropping 26 points against Blue Hills and 24 against Diman.

Ethan Harris, Taunton

The Rhode Island College-bound athlete was both the Football Player of the Year and Boys Wrestler of the Year this year. While he was the Tigers' top two-way player on the gridiron, it was on the mat where he really solidified his legacy becoming the program's all-time win leader (151) and capturing the program's first individual Division 1 title in the 190 lb. weight class.

Ian Hoskins, Dighton-Rehoboth

The Endicott-bound Boys Volleyball Player of the Year was a key reason the Falcons had their best season in 20 years, recording 261 kills, 143 digs and 82 blocks on his way to being named Tri-Valley League MVP.

Ben Miller, Dighton-Rehoboth

The Baseball Player of the Year , as well as a member of the soccer team, led the way both on the mound and at the plate for the Falcons this spring. He went 6-2 with a 0.88 ERA striking out 58 in 48 innings of work while batting .348 with eight doubles, three triples and 14 RBIs.

Mason Morgado, Dighton-Rehoboth

One of the Falcons' top distance runners, he wrapped up his high school career as a Boys Cross Country All-Scholastic, Boys Indoor Track All-Scholastic and a Boys Track and Field All-Scholastic. In cross country, he recorded a personal best time of 17:32.7 as he finished 36th out of 230 in the MSTCA Frank Mooney Coaches Invitational Small Junior/Senior 5K. In the spring, he finished second in the mile (4:43.63, personal best) and fourth in the triple jump (38'11.25", personal best) at the SCC Championship and ninth in the two mile (10:13.24, personal best) at the MIAA Division 5 Championship.

Brian Peters, Bridgewater-Raynham

The Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year put up the Greater Taunton area's top personal best time this fall (16:58.2) as he finished second in the MSTCA Frank Mooney Coaches Invitational Large School 5K. He's also a member of the indoor track and track and field teams.

Elijah Prophete, Taunton

A Wrestling All-Scholastic and an important member of the football team, he became the second ever Tiger wrestler to win a Division 1 individual title, doing so in the 215 lb. weight class.

Troy Santos, Taunton

The Hartford-bound Boys Basketball Player of the Year joined older brother Trent in the 1,000 point scorers club, scoring 511 points this winter to finish his high school career with a total of 1,054. He also led the Hockomock League in points per game (24.2).

Dmitrius Shearrion, Taunton

The UMass Lowell-bound athlete was both the Boys Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year , as well as a Football Second Team All-Scholastic. He solidified his spot as one of best sprinters in Tiger history this spring, winning state title in the 200 meter at the MIAA Meet of Champions with a school record time of 0:21.45. He also was crowned the Hockomock champion again in both the 100 meter (0:11.11) and 200 meter (0:22.13) and was part of the champion 4x100 meter relay team (0:43.52). In the winter, he was crowned Hockomock champion in both the 55 (0:06.62) and 300 meters (0:35.46) and hauled in five touchdowns on the gridiron in the fall.

Jaiden Solitro, Dighton-Rehoboth

The Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year led both the Falcons and Greater Taunton area with 54 goals, as well as 23 assists for a total of 77 points.

Richie Thayer, Bridgewater-Raynham

The Golfer of the Year wrapped up a strong high school golf career being named the SEC MVP and crowned the individual SEC co-champion shooting a 72.

Jose Touron, Taunton

Both a Football All-Scholastic and Boys Lacrosse All-Scholastic, he was a leader on both teams for the Tigers. On the gridiron, he hauled in 51 catches for 820 yards and six touchdowns as well as recorded 30 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble on defense. He eclipsed the 2,000 career receiving yard mark to finish his high school career with 140 catches for 2,324 yards and 26 touchdowns. In his first ever lacrosse season, he led Taunton's offense with 11 goals and four assists for 15 points.

Kristof Trond, Dighton-Rehoboth

The Boys Soccer Player of the Year wrapped up an impressive high school soccer career with a team-best 14 goals, four of which came during the No. 26 Falcons' impressive tournament run to the Division 3 Final Four.

Brent von Magnus, Bridgewater-Raynham

A Wrestling All-Scholastic, he was crowned the Division 2 champion in the 132 lb. weight class.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Vote: Who is the 2023-24 Taunton Daily Gazette Male Athlete of the Year?