We are so excited to announce that Janelle Jenkins of Carroll H.S. and Sheldon Neuse of Fossil Ridge H.S. won our top Female and Male Awards winners at the 23rd Annual Christian Athlete of the Year Awards.
The awards were presented in Dallas, Texas on Monday, March 19, 2012. Of the potential 2 1/2 million athletes eligible, we received thousands of entries and our judging committee narrowed the entries to 40 male and 40 female contestants.
Nominees were selected based upon their commitment to excellence in athletics, academics, and demonstrating integrity in their Christian faith. Students were not chosen because they were necessarily the “best” athletes or students but because they showed a high quality of character as individuals who make a difference in the lives of others.
From all of the submissions, 10 male finalists and 10 female finalists were selected. The finalists were:
Females
Brooklyn Billner – Richland H.S., Katie Black – Abernathy H.S., Callie Bland – Mildred H.S., Shelby Drews – Decatur H.S., Erica Hilliard – Trinity H.S., Janelle Jenkins – Carroll H.S., Katie Reilly – Concordia Lutheran H.S., Kiersten Shivers – Faith Christian School, Macie Walker – Hutto H.S., and Madison Young – Birdville H.S..
Males
Austin Black – Sonlight Homeschool Program, Johnny Brown – Calvary Christian Academy, Wesley Chatham – Faith Christian School, Mitch Freeman – Prestonwood Christian Academy, Logan Lewis – Cisco H.S., Darien McLemore – Carroll H.S., Tanner Moore – Seminole H.S., Sheldon Neuse – Fossil Ridge H.S., Tobechi Oleru – McKinney Boyd H.S., Sam Spradlin – Bishop Lynch Catholic H.S.
In addition, there were several special awards given. Josh Truelove of Bangs H.S. received the Richard Bucknor Courage Award. Stephen Gomez of Birdville H.S. received the Lewis Johnson Paying It Forward Award. Dane McKittrick of Richland H.S. received the Joe DeLoach Maximizing His Potential Award. Hunter Bradley of Austin Hyde Park Baptist School received the Jeremiah 29:11 Award. Hannah Everitt of Seminole H.S. received the Carl Lewis Inspiration Award.
Thank you to all of the athletes for inspiring us with your stories of courage, dedication, and for being living examples of your faith. Dr. Sam and Sharon Mings (Founders) would like to say thank you and congratulations to you all.
Over the next couple of weeks, we will be sharing specific stories about the athletes, providing pictures from the awards banquet and sending out words of thanks to the wonderful Olympians, musicians and team members who were part of the banquet.
