Male Athletes of the Week: Micah Gray & Elisha Slabach (Week Ending December 11, 2023)

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Micah Gray

ELCO Basketball won last weekend’s Lebanon Tip Off Tournament with wins over Spring Grove and North Schuylkill. Over the course of those two victories, junior Micah Gray scored 31 points, including a 19 point performance against Spring Grove. For his efforts, he was named the Tournament MVP. Overall, through the first three games of the season, Gray averaged 16.7 points. With his hot start, he has been selected as a LebCo Male Athlete of the Week.

When asked about Gray, Coach Brad Conners said, “Micah is one of the most coachable athletes I’ve ever had. He’s also one of the most selfless. He’s given up his body and has taken five charges through the first four games. His defense has improved drastically since last year at this time.”

Conners continued, speaking of his point scorer, “His shot making ability doesn’t come as a surprise. He has worked as hard as anyone throughout the offseason. Whether it is a Thursday morning in July or a Saturday morning in September, he’s in the gym working on his game. He is a gym rat and deserving of everything he’s gotten thus far.”

Gray hopes to help the Raiders make a deep postseason run this year. In terms of his selflessness in helping the team achieve that goal, he recognizes that he can score, but when asked about his role, Gray says it is to “Play hard but to be a stat stuffer for all roles of the team.”

The junior is a busy athlete, as he is also a member of ELCO’s Soccer and Track and Field teams. While a well-rounded athlete, he has his sights set on translating this hard work into playing Basketball at the collegiate level. He is not opposed to traveling to find that opportunity, as he has already been to all fifty states.

While Gray looks forward to traveling to Philadelphia for Monday’s game at the Wells Fargo Center, the main goal is to add to the number of times he can play with his teammates this season. We wish Micah and his Raider teammates luck in making that happen.

Elisha Slabach

The Annville-Cleona Boys Basketball Team got off to a hot start, winning their first five games.  This included winning the Hamburg Tip Off Tournament with dominate wins over Shenandoah Valley and Northern Lehigh.  In those two wins, junior Elisha Slabach scored a combined 50 points and was named the Tournament MVP. His hot streak continued after the opening weekend, as he has averaged 21.8 points through six games. He has hit 17 three-pointers in those games.  This effort turned heads and earned Slabach the selection as a LebCo Male Athlete of the Week.

When asked about Slabach’s development, Annville Coach Jason Coletti said, “Getting to watch Elisha in the off-season workouts, summer leagues and practice, we knew Elisha was going to have a breakout season. He has been one of our leaders for a while and we count on him to do a lot of things for us.”

Coletti went on to praise Slabach’s character, stating, “He is more than just a scorer for us. We ask him to do a lot for us because he is capable of doing it. He is a great pleasure to coach and his teammates enjoy playing with him.”

The leadership factor is something that Slabach prides himself on, telling LebCoSports.com, “I see myself as the focal point of the offense as well as a team leader that keeps everyone focused on our team goals.”

While he continues to lead the offense, he is hoping this translates into the Dutchmen achieving their goal of winning the Section 4 Championship this season. This would be a huge accomplishment, considering that the Dutchmen went 2-20 during Slabach’s freshman year.

Basketball is the only sport that Slabach plays after falling in love with the sport after being introduced to the it by Coach Keller.  When he’s not working on his game, he’s at home where he tends to his two guinea pigs, Hazel and Pipkin. After high school, Slabach plans on seeking a career in the financial world. For now, he is busy jamming the stat sheet with what he’s doing on the court.

We wish Elisha and his Dutchmen the best as they look to build on their early season success.

Read about this week’s Female Athletes of the Week: Kenzie Eckhart & Laci Lesher

For a full list of this week’s nominees, check out: Athlete of the Week Voting: Week of December 4th.