Sixteen senior girls and sixteen senior boys from Mercer to Darlington have been selected as recipients of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Scholar Athlete Award underwritten by Marshfield Clinic.
The winners include the first ever female from Mineral Point High School to claim this prestigious honor, Sydney Staver. (Ryan McGuire, 2010, is the only other Pointer to win.)
Included in this year’s group of Scholar Athlete winners will be the 1,000th statewide recipient since the program began in 1984.
To determine the top 32 finalists, four boys and four girls were selected–based on both athletic and academic achievement– from each of four WIAA divisions.
“These extraordinary student athletes excel in both academics and athletics,” said Tom Shafranski, Assistant Director of the WIAA. “Seventeen of this year’s 32 WIAA Scholar Athlete finalists have a grade point average of 4.0 to date, while the average GPA is an amazing 3.95. All 32 scholar athlete finalists have already earned a total of 317 varsity letters during their first 3-1/2 years of high school. That’s an average of 10 letters per athlete, and we have not yet completed our spring sports season.”
An all-time record 861 seniors were nominated for the 2017 WIAA Scholar Athlete Award by 439 high schools throughout the state.
The 2017 WIAA Scholar Athlete Award winners, as well as their families and school representatives, will be recognized at an awards ceremony Sunday, May 7 at the Jefferson Street Inn in Wausau.
Each 2017 WIAA Scholar Athlete Award recipients will receive a medallion and certificate, and will take with them a special plaque for display in their school’s trophy case. Keynote speaker will be eight-time LPGA Champion and former WIAA Girl’s Golf State Champion, Sherri Steinhauer.
A live webcast of the awards ceremony will be available at www.wiaawi.org during and after the ceremony beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 7. The ceremony will also be aired on FS Wisconsin Saturday, May 13 at 9:30 p.m.
All student athletes nominated for the award by their high school athletic directors will be presented with a medal at their school in a manner to be determined by the school administration recognizing them as their school’s top male or female scholar athlete.
Boys winners: https://www.wiaawi.org/Schools/ScholarAthletes/2017ScholarAthleteBoys.aspx
Girls winners: https://www.wiaawi.org/Schools/ScholarAthletes/2017ScholarAthleteGirls.aspx
Sydney Staver, Mineral Point High School – 3.98 GPA
Varsity Letters Earned by Grade
Volleyball – 9, 10, 11, 12
Basketball – 9, 10, 11, 12
Track & Field – 9, 10, 11
Individual Sports Achievement
Track & Field Conference Champion – 9, 10, 11
Track & Field Regional Champion – 9, 10
Track & Field Sectional Champion – 10
Track & Field State Champion – 10
Team WIAA Success
Volleyball Conference Champion – 12
Basketball Conference Champion – 11, 12
Basketball Regional Champion – 11, 12
Basketball Sectional Champion – 11
Basketball State Champion – 11
Times Named to All-Conference First Team
Volleyball – 3
Basketball – 4
Times Named to Varsity Sport MVP
Volleyball – 3
Basketball – 3
Years Involved in Co-Curricular Activities
Forensics – 4 (Captain)
National Honor Society – 2
FBLA – 4 (President)
Key Club – 3
Yearbook – 4 (Editor –in-Chief)
The Blue Crew – 4
Student Council – 4
Civic & Community Activities
Cystic Fibrosis Organization volunteer; Darlington Chamber Main St volunteer; Children’s Triathlon volunteer; Bible School assistant; City Sign Touch Up Crew; Meals on Wheels volunteer; Bingo with the elderly; Youth basketball volunteer coach; Performed public service announcements for the radio for Earth Day; Fall Festival volunteer; NHS Refreshment server 8th – 10th grade; Mineral Point Clean-Up; Service Day volunteer.
Essay
Along with having the opportunity to run and long jump in the state track finals the past three years, I have been very fortunate to have been the varsity setter and varsity point guard all four years of my high school career. These experiences and roles required me to act and think at a very mature levelright away as a fourteen-year-old. Now as a senior captain of both teams, I truly appreciate the trust the upperclassmen put in my decision making and leadership skills. Without high school sports, I would not be the person I am today; high school athletics has entirely shaped my character, work ethic, and mindset. Being a student-athlete has taught me to time manage and prioritize. Competition has taught me to be a humble winner and a gracious loser. As cliché as it sounds, my involvement in high school sports has made me embrace Nelson Mandela’s quote, “It always seems impossible until it is done.” The impossible can be done when you work as a team, respect each other’s talents and weaknesses, listen to each other, and know your role. The impossible can be done when you learn from defeat, train like a champion, and allow yourself to have fun while you are making once in a lifetime memories. I am daily reminded that I am a role model for younger student-athletes and a representation of my small community, where the high school is the heart of the town.