Trying to come up with a male and female athlete of the year for Butler County is difficult enough.

One would think that coming up with a male and female athlete of the decade for the county would be that much harder.

One might think that.

But it's not.

After going back through the Butler County sports scene from 2010-19, my findings are that the choices are obvious.

And that's in all due respect to guys like Ethan Morton of Butler and Robby Carmody of Mars. Morton set the basketball scoring record with the Golden Tornado and is headed to Purdue.

Carmody set the hoop scoring record for the Planets and moved on to Notre Dame. His younger brother, Michael, might even warrant consideration as he excels in football and basketball and will join the Fighting Irish on the gridiron next season.

But none of those guys has done what Knoch graduate Jordan Geist has done.

A multiple state champion in the shot put and discus with the Knights, Geist went on to the University of Arizona. He's won the silver medal in the Pan-Am Games. He's placed fifth at the NCAA Championships in the shot put as a freshman, third as a sophomore.

He's been named Gatorade Athlete of the Year, set a high school world record in the 16-pound shot put, is already a two-time PAC 12 champion.

In high school, Geist could not compete at certain venues because his discus might land in the parking lot.

He's best of the decade, hands down.

On the girls side, Moniteau softball pitcher Kennedy DeMatteis threw no-hitters on a regular basis and was a key cog in turning the Warriors into a state power.

Mars graduate Mani Brueckner was a dominant soccer player at Mars, helping the Planets go 49-1-1 over her last two years, and went on to break the single-season and career scoring records at Gannon University.

Freeport's Sidney Shemanski is dominating in three sports right now, Laura Goettler's Butler swimming career has resulted in WPIAL and state titles, and you can come up with many Golden Tornado track and field standouts.

But no one outshines Cranberry Township resident and Vincentian graduate Brenna Wise.

All she did in basketball was score 2,331 points in high school while leading her team to four WPIAL and two PIAA championships.

She went to Pitt and led the Panthers in scoring before transferring to Indiana, where she is averaging in double figures and leads a nationally-ranked team in rebounds.

Jordan Geist and Brenna Wise.

In a decade filled with indivudual and team successes and championships, they were the best.

And they're still going strong.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle