STEVENS POINT, Wis. — Sixteen senior girls and 16 senior boys have been selected as finalists to receive the prestigious 2019 WIAA Statewide Scholar Athlete Award underwritten by Marshfield Children’s Hospital.
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. More than 1,000 Scholar Athlete finalists have been recognized since the program began in 1984.
“These extraordinary student athletes excel in both academics and athletics,” said Tom Shafranski, WIAA Assistant Director. “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 295 varsity letters during their first 3 1/2 years of high school,” he said. “That’s an average of nine letters per athlete, and we have not yet completed our spring sports season.”
This year, 823 seniors were nominated for the 2019 WIAA Scholar Athlete Award by 417 high schools throughout the state.
The 2019 WIAA Scholar Athlete Finalists, as well as their families and school representatives, will be recognized at an awards ceremony Sunday, May 5 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Wausau. Each 2019 WIAA Scholar Athlete Finalist will receive a medallion and certificate, and will take with them a special plaque for display in their school’s trophy case.
Lance Allan will serve as the keynote speaker. He is the main sports anchor at Milwaukee’s WTMJ-TV and co-host of Packers Live. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied broadcast journalism. Allan interned at WMTV, the Madison NBC affiliate before landing a position at WJFW-TV in Rhinelander. Allan then become weekend sports anchor at Green Bay's WFRV-TV, and after one year, he joined the sports team at WTMJ-TV. He was named the Wisconsin Sportscaster of the Year in 2012 and 2005 by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
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 5. In addition, the delayed broadcast of the awards ceremony will be aired Friday, May 17 following the Milwaukee Brewers baseball game telecast.
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.
2019 Scholar Athlete Recipients
DIVISION 1 – BOYS
Ryan Krueger, Marshfield High School
Kevin Meicher, Middleton High School
Austin Thyes, Sheboygan North High School
Malik Tiedt, Burlington High School
DIVISION 1 – GIRLS
Chloe Buescher, Milton High School
Zoe Goodmanson, Pewaukee High School
Reagan Hoopes, Waunakee High School
Kate Jochims, Muskego High School
DIVISION 2 – BOYS
Owen Jelinek, Lodi High School
Shane Liegel, River Valley High School
Andrew Pahnke, McFarland High School
Gervase Thompson IV, Northwestern High School
DIVISION 2 – GIRLS
Dana Feyen, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School
Madelyn Granica, Amery High School
Emily Neff, Hayward High School
Cassie Schiltz, Luxemburg-Casco High School
DIVISION 3 – BOYS
Cade Christensen, St. Mary’s Springs High School
Dylan Schoenherr, Stratford High School
Grayson Vandenbush, Random Lake High School
David Vannucchi, Luther High School*
DIVISION 3 – GIRLS
Tori Gerber, Cameron High School
Lydia Murphy, Lancaster High School
Alexis Rolph, Lourdes Academy
Megan Scheidt, Aquinas High School
DIVISION 4 – BOYS
Lucas Bukowski, Green Bay NEW Lutheran High School*
Ty Guden, Edgar High School
Noah Kollock, Almond-Bancroft High School*
Jared Payne, Seneca High School
DIVISION 4 – GIRLS
Kenadi Diedrich, Athens High School
Kiana Fall, Clayton High School
Makaylee Kuhn, Hilbert High School
Ashlie Lockington, Bangor High School
*indicates that the student is that school’s first statewide winner.
The membership of the WIAA oversees interscholastic athletic programs for 511 senior high schools and 49 junior high/middle level schools in its membership. It sponsors 27 championship tournament series in 2018-19. For more information, visit the WIAA website at www.wiaawi.org or contact the WIAA office at (715) 344-8580.
# WIAA #
Release by Kenziegreen Marketing Group & WIAA Communications
