Twins win South Central Iowa Athlete of the Year awards

Legendary Houston Oiler running back Earl Campbell said it best “I try to get them to remember that they’re not just athletes, but student-athletes.”

The 2022 South Central Iowa Male and Female Athletes of the Year have and will continue represent southwest Iowa at the next level for both athletics and academia.

Twins Caelen DeVault and Maddax DeVault of Nodaway Valley are the 2022 winners.

Their parents are Amy and Ryan DeVault.

Caelen, valedictorian of the 2022 Wolverine class, has moved to Warrensburg, Missouri, where he will play football at the University of Central Missouri. The Mules are NCAA Division II.

“(Winning the award) means a lot just because coming into high school sports, my parents had always taught me a lesson that ‘Nothing is ever given to you, you’ve got to work for your goals,” DeVault said. “I’ve taken my mindset and my training for the different sports and it paid off.”

DeVault, who was also the 2022 Iowa Governor’s Scholar, was an IPSWA all-state first team defensive back in 2020 and second team in 2021.

His defensive stats his junior and senior season included 150 total tackles (81 solo), four interceptions and one fumble recovery.

DeVault and his fellow Wolverines knocked off Mount Ayr in the “Battle for the Rock” for the first win over the Raiders since 2010 and their sixth win in the series since 1998.

“It was an exciting game, so, doing that my senior year set the standard for the season,” DeVault said.

He’ll be on the defensive side of the ball for the Mules.

“They have me at quick safety right now,” DeVault said. “It’s a free safety that’s in a lot of coverage but can come down as well.”

Caelen has good relationships with his coaches already before playing a single down.

“My position coach (Kyle Westphal) is also from Greenfield,” DeVault said. “Already having that previous relationship has been something really cool.”

In addition to three-time, first team all-district honoree, Caelen holds school records for career receptions with 140 and single-game receptions with 13.

DeVault’s favorite memory involves a revenge game in 2020.

“My junior year lost to Earlham (21-14) in our homecoming game,” he said. “We ended up playing them in the second round of the playoffs. We ended shutting them out (26-0) at their place it was a fun and cool experience in the cold.”

In the winter seasons, DeVault was a four year competitor with Nodaway Valley/O-M. This year, DeVault qualified for state at 182 pounds.

His coach, Brad Honnold, shares that Caelen checks every box in a standout student-athlete.

“He’s a very special kid,” Honnold said. “He’s a very great student-athlete. A great role model, hard worker, everything you would want in a leader on your program.”

Honnold’s favorite memory of DeVault came after the state tournament in Des Moines this season.

“A week later (after the state tournament), Caelen and other senior boys came down to the AAU state tournament to watch my boys and coach my boys.”

Caelen participated in track and field for three years.

“Track was one of the sports that I ran just to stay in shape for football,” DeVault said.

Additionally, Caelen was a four year member of Nodaway Valley baseball.

This summer, DeVault was named to the All-Star Series put on by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.

“Whether it was playing catch with my brother and dad out in the yard in the middle of April,” DeVault said. “Playing in Prinicpal Park my junior year was my favorite experience. We played Mount Ayr, one of those teams always wanted to beat. We ended up losing 1-0 and it was a blast playing in that setting.”

Caelen and his fellow Mules open the season at Pittsburg State. The Gorillas lead the series 6-5 since 2010.

Maddax will be taking her athletic and academic talents to Simpson College in Indianola where she will play basketball.

“(Winning the award) means a lot to me,” DeVault said. “It’s a big honor considering the number of athletes there are in this area. To go out like this, is really special.”

She took part in four sports while wearing Wolverine wear, volleyball, basketball, track and softball.

“Doing four sports definitely isn’t an easy task,” DeVault said. “It’s something I embraced that I’ve done my whole life. There isn’t time for much breaks, but I love each and every sport.”

DeVault was a unanimous first team all-Pride of Iowa volleyball player in 2021 and a first team setter in 2020.

“Maddax is an athlete that’s in a category of her own,” Wolverine head coach Allie Kiburz said. “On a lighter note, she was always the athlete that would forget her things the most. She left her shoes one game, she forgot her spandex another game, she probably drove her mom crazy.”

She was named a Class 2A first team girl’s basketball player by the IPSWA this spring.

“Even though we didn’t make it to state, the postseason run is the best part,” DeVault said.

DeVault’s name is in the record books, and likely for some time.

“That kid is so fast and so athletic,” Nodaway Valley head coach Brian Eisbach said. “It’s bittersweet. I’ve never coached Nodaway Valley and not had Maddax DeVault on the court. She left Nodaway Valley as the leading scorer of all time with 1,807 points, she’s seventh in rebounds with 423, her 286 steals is number one in the program history and she was eighth in assists with 183.”

In track this spring, DeVault won the state title in 100 meter hurdles with a personal record of 14.69 seconds.

Finally, this summer, DeVault led the Wolverines’ in batting average and hits with a .391 and 25 respectively.

She was the salutatorian of Nodaway Valley’s class of 2022.

Simpson has not released their 2022-2023 schedule yet, so it is unknown as of print who Maddax will face off against with her fellow Storm.