2012 Scholar Athlete Awards
North Region:
David Eldridge IV, Hereford Bulls
A three year starter and first team All-County selection, this BTC All-Star is an honor roll student and Principal’s List member that is also a member of the National Honor Society. He also is a county champion as a wrestler and plays lacrosse.
South Region:
Brian Bieman, Severn Admirals
A team captain and first team All-Conference, he ranks in the Top 10% of his class and is a member of the National and Spanish Honor Societies. The leading tackler on his team, he also plays basketball, is a member of the Applied Science Club and is a camp counselor.
East Region:
Johnathan Galarraga, John Carroll Patriots
This team captain was chosen both first team All-Conference and All-County and a BTC All-Star. He ranks #1 in his class and is a member of the National and Spanish Honor Socities. A National Merit Semi-Finalist and AP scholar, he is also on the rubgy team and is a peer mentor and tutor.
West Region:
Judd Ziegler, Middletown Knights
Voted first team All-County and Second Team All-State, Judd ranks number one in his class and is a member of the National Honor Society. An AP Scholar, he just won a State Championship in wrestling for his weight class, capping an undefeated season. He will wrestle for Princeton in the fall.
Michael Hunt, Brunswick Railroaders
Seleted first team All Conference and a team captain, he ranks number one in his class and is a member of the National Honor Society. He also plays lacrosse, is the Treasurer for the Student Government and youth lacrosse referee.
Central Region:
De'Andre Taylor, W.E.B. Dubois Panthers
Selected as a captain and All-City performer, he ranks in the top 5% of his class, is a member of the basketball and baseball teams, plays the baritone and is very active in his church.
2012 Special Achievement Awards
A. Paul Menton Award:
Gilman Greyhounds
The Ben Eaton, Sr. Championship Award:
Dunbar Poets
Middletown Knights
Old Mill Patriots
River Hill Hawks
Herb Armstrong Service to Football Award:
Roger Wrenn, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
Courage Award (Female):
Allie Bryant, Eastern Tech High School
Heading into her Junior year, two sport athlete Allie Bryant was doing her summer traning in anticipation of fall tryouts for the field hockey team at Eastern Tech High School. Suddenly, she began to experience back and kidney pain, which led her doctors to discover she had blockage in her kidney that reduced its operating effectiveness to 5% of its capacity. Shortly after her doctor installed a stint in the kidney, Allie returned to pre-season training for field hockey, with much pain that the doctors were confident would subside. Allie ultimately made the team, but soon thereafter was dealt another setback when the stint came loose, forcing another surgical procedure to replace it. After a brief recovery period, Allie was allowed to return to the field hockey team and complete the season.
The second surgery caused her doctors to rule out any participation in basketball, for fear of her experiencing a contact injury that could damage the delicate organ. This was emotionally devastating to Allie, who began her basketball career playing for her Dad in the local rec leagues.
Despite the dramatic lifestyle challenges and the need for regular medical care, Allie maintained her focus on her school work, earning honor roll status in a rigorous schedule of honors and gifted and talent courses. Her doctors maintain to this day a close eye on her condition and progress. Allie was able to play on the field hockey team again this past fall, and hopes to play field hockey on the club level next year when she enters Salisbury University. Her teachers and coaches have expressed amazement and inspiration from Allie’s attitude and ability to not let her condition overshadow everything else she does on and off the field. Allie hopes to enter a nursing program in college and pursue a health care career, using her personal story as motivation to help those she comes in contact with to help them overcome their adversities and challenges that might otherwise overwhelm them.
Courage Award (Male):
Antoine Wright, Catonsville High School
The loss of a parent at an early age often has a debilitating impact on the child and a family unprepared for such a change. In many fewer cases, it serves as a motivator for focus, drive and desire to exceed what other would otherwise expect. In the case of Antoine Wright, the sudden violent death of his father provided a backdrop for a true story of success and courage that can only inspire those that hear it.
Antoine’s Dad was shot to death when Antoine was 3, forcing his Mother to take two jobs to support and keep a household together that included him and his sisters. Early on, Antoine realized that he was now the man of the house. Antoine also listened to his Mother, who reassured him throughout elementary and middle school that he was smart and capable of doing whatever he set his mind to achieving.
Antoine responded positively to the encouragement and set his mind to work hard in school and on the practice field. As a Junior, Antoine walked on the Catonsville Comets Football Field and played his way onto an established Senior offensive line that led the team to a slot in the state playoffs. As a Senior, Antoine returned as a Team Captain and helped to lead his team to a 12-1 record, one of the finest in the school’s history.
In the classroom, Antoine showed the same determination with a full slate on honors and AP classes, earning a weighted GPA of 4.19 on a 4.0 scale, impressing his teachers and peers with a strong sense of self-discipline and drive to achieve.
As he heads off to Towson University to play for the Tigers, there is no doubt that Antoine Wright will continue this courageous drive to stay on top, be the best student athlete and person he can be for his teammates and his family.
Regions & Schools
NORTH: Baltimore Lutheran, Boys’ Latin, Calvert Hall, Dulaney, Franklin, Friends, Gilman, Hereford, Loch Raven, Loyola, McDonogh, Milford Mill, New Town, Owings Mills, Pikesville, Randallstown. St. Paul’s, Towson and Woodlawn.
SOUTH: Annapolis, Archbishop Spalding, Arundel, Broadneck, Cardinal Gibbons, Chesapeake (AA), Glen Burnie, Lansdowne, Meade, Mount St. Joseph, North County, Northeast, Old Mill, St. Mary’s, St. Vincent Pallotti, Severn, Severna Park, Southern (AA), South River and Western Tech.
EAST: Aberdeen, Archbishop Curley, Bel Air, C. Milton Wright, Chesapeake (BC), Dundalk, Eastern Vo-Tech, Edgewood, Fallston, Harford Tech, Havre de Grace, John Carroll, Joppatowne, Kenwood, North Harford, Overlea, Parkville, Patapsco, Perry Hall and Sparrows Point.
WEST: Atholton, Brunswick, Catoctin, Centennial, Century, Francis Scott Key, Frederick, Glenelg, Gov. Thomas Johnson, Hammond, Howard, Liberty, Linganore, Long Reach, Marriott’s Ridge, Middletown, Mt. Hebron, North Carroll, Oakland Mills, Patterson Mill, Reservoir, River Hill, St. John’s Catholic Prep, South Carroll, Tuscarora, Urbana, Walkersville, Westminster, Wilde Lake and Winters Mill.
CENTRAL: City, Carver, Catonsville, Digital Harbor, Dr. Samuel Banks, Doris M. Johnson, W.E.B. DuBois, Dunbar, Edmondson-Westside, Forest Park, Frederick Douglass, Lake Clifton-Eastern, Reginald F. Lewis School of Bus