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Responsibility And Integrity Mark Students Named 'Champions of Character'
HOUGHTON, N.Y. – Eighteen junior student athletes from 10 Allegany County high schools have been honored by the Houghton College Athletic Association as being Champions of Character. The students were cited for displaying the core values of The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), which include respect, responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship and servant-leadership.
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The 2009 honorees were as follows:
Gregory Starks of Andover Central School
Chelsea Morton and Coty Winchell of Belfast Central School
Erin Fleming and Kyle Ingalls of Bolivar-Richburg Central School
Brittany Clark and Zechariah Mientkiewicz of Cuba-Rushford Central School
Victoria Mullen and Ben Murphy of Fillmore Central School
Casey Pearsall and Joshua Hoopes of Friendship Central School
Tara Scholla and Andrew Platt of Genesee Valley Central School
Lauren Daugherty and Jake Merrill of Houghton Academy
Courtney Black and Andrew Law of Scio Central School
Marian VanVlack of Whitesville Central School
Each student consistently demonstrated the NAIA’s positive character traits both on and off the fields and courts, organizers said. Students who qualified embody the five core values of the NAIA, are in good academic standing and are either captains or anticipated captains of their sports teams.
Of the 18 honored student athletes, one male and one female were chosen as the overall winners of the Allegany County Champions of Character Award. Theses students received a plaque to be displayed in their high school as well as a $250 scholarship to be awarded the end of their senior year and used towards their college educations.
Tara Scholla of Genesee Valley Central School, this year’s female winner, is a member of the National Honor Society, a scholar-athlete in three sports and has been named a Big 30 All-Star in Allegany County. She is active in her school community as a member of the band, foreign language club and ski club. Her leadership in sports spills over into the classroom as she serves as a class officer and a member of student government.
Ben Murphy of Fillmore Central School, this year’s male winner, is also a member of the National Honor Society, has won numerous academic awards and has been named a first team Allegany County All-Star and MVP. With numerous activities, Murphy is engaged and well rounded in both his school and community. He is involved in jazz band, elementary language tutoring, youth sports coaching, the school musical and his church worship band.
Houghton College Women’s Soccer Coach David Lewis offered words of congratulations and motivation to the honored students. “Athletics is a lot about relationships characterized by core values,” he said. He illustrated the core values of the NAIA by providing anecdotes of students that he has coached who live their lives and play their sports based on such core values.
One such anecdote surrounded Dick and Rick Hoyt, a father son triathlon team who have competed together in many races including several iron man competitions. Dick is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard and served his country for more than 35 years. Rick was born a spastic quadriplegic, cerebral palsy, non-speaking person and is now a graduate of Boston University despite many predictions that he would never even survive. Dick has pushed or pulled Rick over many miles and through hundreds of races.
“One of the messages that they share is, ‘Yes you can.’ The next time you want to say ,‘I can’t,’ I want you to remember these two men,” said Lewis.
About the NAIA
The NAIA is the governing body for athletics programs at its nearly 300 colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada. The long-held mission of the NAIA is to promote the education and development of well-rounded students and productive citizens through intercollegiate athletics.
The NAIA holds a strong commitment to student-athletes and strives to enrich their college experience by supporting academic achievement and character development. Champions of Character is the association's innovative flagship program designed to instill character values in student-athletes, coaches and youth in the communities it serves.
