SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Nansemond-Suffolk Academy fourth-grader Christopher Applewhite Jr. is a finalist for the Sports Illustrated Youth Athlete of the Year.

The nine-year-old is a baseball phenom that plays up in his age group on a travel team and leads his team in batting average and home runs and excels at his academics. "He eats, sleeps and breaths his sports and his academics," said Applewhite's father, Chris Applewhite. "I think that's what athlete of the year is." Christopher's mother, Tiffani Applewhite, was a basketball standout at Landstown High School, and while she tried to steer her son towards hoops, he naturally gravitated towards baseball.

"He's been playing baseball since he was about six and his work ethic is out of this world," Tiffani Applewhite said. "He works hard on

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