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Kate Faulk (right) receives the Corey Melebeck Memorial Award from Corey's Mother, Beth. Also pictured are Corey's brother, Aaron and his father, Keith.
Faulk, a four-sport athlete for the North Vermilion’s Lady Patriots, is notorious for spending nearly as much time on the floor, or the field, as she does on her feet, chasing down loose balls (in basketball), ground balls (in softball) or going for the dig (in volleyball).
“People always ask me why I spend so much time on the ground,” said Faulk. “I don’t realize what I’m doing half the time, though. I just go out there and play.”
That hustle led to her receiving accolades aplenty in her senior season for the Lady Pats, and is part and parcel of her being named the inaugural recipient of the Corey Melebeck Memorial Award, given to Vermilion Parish’s Athlete of the Year and sponsored by the Bank of Erath.
Corey Melebeck was a three-sport student-athlete at Vermilion Catholic (a 2008 graduate) who bravely fought a battle with cancer. Though he lost that fight in January of 2012, Melebeck never quit.
There was no female athlete in Vermilion Parish during the 2011-12 school year that epitomized that willingness to fight to the end than Faulk.
“I heard (Melebeck) was an amazing person,” said Faulk of the honor. “It makes the award even better to win since its associated with a person like that.”
Faulk’s accolades during the past year are indeed many.
She was selected first-team, All-District in volleyball. During district play, she accumulated 44 kills, 26 digs and 14 aces for NV in the Lady Pats’ run to a first-ever playoff appearance.
In softball, Faulk hit .350 and played first base for NV, earning first-team, All-District honors in that sport as well, helping to lead her squad to the Fastpitch 56 State Tournament in Sulphur for the first time since the late ‘90s.
“We were young and people weren’t expecting us to make it very far,” said Faulk. “But we ended up making it to state... We lost to a team that had been to state many times. We had nothing to hang our heads about.”
In track and field, Faulk was one leg of several different relay teams, as well as competing in the long jump and triple jump for the
Lady Pats.
“Wherever (head coach Tommy Byler) needed me,” she said “That’s what I would run.”
It was in basketball, her self-described favorite sport, that Faulk truly shined, however.
She earned yet another first-team, All-District selection on the court this past winter, leading the Lady Pats to yet another playoff appearance for the 2011-12 season.
Faulk’s play on the court garnered the attention of LSU-Eunice, with which she signed a letter of intent to play basketball, starting next fall and said she will major in special education.
Faulk was key to the 20th-ranked Lady Pats’ 53-49 first-round victory over number-13 Amite, and nearly helped them defeat visiting Westlake in the second round. NV lost 45-43 on a questionable final-moment play.
“I wouldn’t change a thing,” said Faulk. “My team was awesome. The coaches were amazing. The season overall was great.”
Faulk is the daughter of Valerie and Jude Faulk.
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