PDT Sports Report

COLUMBUS — A total of $66,000 in college scholarships will be handed out to 54 students during the 20th Annual OHSAA Scholar-Athlete Scholarship Banquet Friday night in Columbus. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. at the DoubleTree Hotel at the Crosswoods/Worthington.

Three area student-athletes were selected from the Southeast District.

The scholarship winners were selected by each of the six OHSAA district athletic boards. Of the 54 honorees, 42 will receive $1,000 awards, including six (one from each district) that will be given an OHSAA Minority Scholarship presented by Farmers Insurance. Twelve students (two from each district) will receive $2,000 awards made possible by the OHSAA Foundation and Taco Bell. Nike and Molten have also contributed to the OHSAA scholarship program, as well as schools that participate in an OHSAA Foundation basketball game, which includes a fee given to the Foundation to fund their portion of the scholarships.

“We have had many highlights and displays of sportsmanship this past school year and the scholar-athlete banquet is always one of those special moments, too,” said OHSAA Commissioner Dr. Dan Ross. “I look forward to this banquet just as much as the state tournaments because it’s an opportunity to see so many students honored for their extraordinary work academically. They truly represent what it is all about and their families and schools are to be commended for helping them achieve great things already. I would also like to personally thank the OHSAA Foundation and our corporate partners for their generous support in helping make these scholarships possible.”

Scholar-athlete recipients are selected based on a point system which rewards students for grade point averages; ACT or SAT scores; varsity letters earned; individual and team athletic honors; and an essay. There are seven, 10 or 13 recipients from each district, depending upon the number of schools within the district. The recipients were selected by special committees within each of the six OHSAA athletic districts. Recipients of athletic scholarships from NCAA Division I or II institutions are not eligible for the award.

2012 Southeast District OHSAA Scholar-Athlete Scholarship Recipients

Taylor Hale (Oak Hill) - Ranked first in her class … 4.0 GPA … seven varsity letters (basketball and volleyball) … plans to attend either The Ohio State University or Ohio Dominican University and study nursing.

Timothy Grosel (Marietta) - Ranked first in his class … 4.0 GPA … nine varsity letters (soccer, basketball and baseball) … will attend Duke University and study biology.

Meelim Lee (Athens) - 3.98 GPA … four varsity letters (tennis) … will attend Stanford University and study bio-engineering.

Paige Grosel (Marietta) - Ranked first in her class … 4.0 GPA … nine varsity letters (soccer, track & field and basketball) … will attend The Ohio State University and study accounting.

Brett Hood (Wheelersburg) - 3.57 GPA … 10 varsity letters (football, basketball and baseball) … will attend Shawnee State University and study biology/pre-medicine.

Austin Loop (South Webster) - 3.91 GPA … nine varsity letters (football, basketball, soccer, baseball) … undecided college choice … plans to study physical therapy.

Heather Ward (Gallipolis Gallia Academy) - 4.0 GPA … eight varsity letters (basketball, volleyball and softball) … will attend the University of Cincinnati and major in dentistry.