A total of 28 Highland County class of 2017 seniors have been nominated for the eighth annual Times-Gazette Highland County Scholar-Athlete Award and are invited to a dinner/banquet to celebrate their accomplishments at 6 p.m. this Thursday at the Ponderosa Banquet Center in Hillsboro.
The nominees and the varsity coaches who nominated them will be the guests of The Times-Gazette at the banquet. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $16 each and can be reserved by calling Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522.
The 28 scholar-athletes who have been nominated for the award are:
• Caitlin Ahrmann, Hillsboro
• Mackenzie Anderson, McClain
• Mat Barton, McClain
• Hannah Binkley, Lynchburg-Clay
• McKayla Binkley, Lynchburg-Clay
• Dillon Burley, Fairfield
• Maggie Carr, Whiteoak
• Jesse Current, Fairfield
• Jensen Daulton, Fairfield
• Brittany Ernst, Lynchburg-Clay
• Wyatt Evans, Fairfield
• Kaylee Hurley, McClain
• Tyler Jackson, McClain
• Ethan Johnson, McClain
• Alexis Jones, Whiteoak
• Sajoun Jones, Hillsboro
• Hayley McConnaughey, Lynchburg-Clay
• Veronica Olaker, McClain
• Maria Onusko, McClain
• Tristan Pitzer, McClain
• Taylor Polley, McClain
• Molly Rowe, McClain
• Kourtnie Smith, Fairfield
• Hope Tira, Hillsboro
• Lillian Van Zant, Hillsboro
• Alexis Waits, Lynchburg-Clay
• William Klay Walker, Fairfield
• Nicholas Wells, McClain
Each scholar-athlete will receive an award and one will be announced at the banquet as the winner of The Times-Gazette 2017 Highland County Scholar-Athlete Award. The winner will receive a $200 scholarship and a plaque.
Each varsity head coach in Highland County was offered the chance to nominate one student-athlete for the award for each sport they coached. The nominee’s should have lettered in one sport during their senior year and have a 3.0 or better cumulative grade point average. Community service is also considered when determining the winner.
Also honored at the banquet will be this year’s inductees into The Times-Gazette Highland County Athletic Hall of Fame. They are 1909 Hillsboro High School graduate Ed Ayres, 1969 Fairfield High School graduate Tom Purtell, 1970 Lynchburg-Clay High School graduate Andy Richmond, and the 1928 Marshall High School Class “B” state championship basketball team.
This is the eighth consecutive year The Times-Gazette has honored hall of fame inductees and the county’s top scholar-athletes.
Past Times-Gazette Highland County Scholar-Athlete Award winners – there was a tie three years – include: Andrew Goolsby (Hillsboro) and Cali Hatten (Lynchburg-Clay); Aric Carroll (Hillsboro); Karen Hilt (Lynchburg-Clay) and Luis Rivas (McClain); Morgan Dettwiller (McClain); Tara Karnes (McClain); Trey Moberly (Hillsboro) and Kiley Sosby (Whiteoak), and Devin Pierson (Lynchburg-Clay).
Reach Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522 or [email protected]