By Lauren Zedlar
Elm Staff Writer
On Aug. 26, Washington College recognized several student-athletes with certain scholarships and awards to celebrate academic achievements.
The first of these being the First-Year Scholarship. This award is given to first-year students-athletes who have attained the highest academic average during their first two semesters at WC.
Emma Macturk, a crew member on the sailing team, Emilee Cramer, a guard on the women’s basketball team, and Amelia Bonshib from the women’s rowing team were all recipients of the First-Year Scholarship.
“I was proud to see my hard work last year paid off both in the boat and academically,” Bonsib said. “The WC Women’s Rowing team is very supportive of school being a priority and creates the perfect structure to balance classes and rowing.”
The next award is given to the student-athletes of the sophomore class who received the highest academic average during the past academic year.
This award was also given to three students, Kristina Curley on the women’s swimming team, Kyra Heap, a middle/forward on the field hockey team, and Gage Mandrell on the men’s swimming team.
“We have great team accountability and consistently push each other to achieve our highest potential on and off the field,” said Heap after explaining previous players on her team had also been honored with the award.
“Following in the footsteps of the swimmers in the two classes above me in receiving this was really special,” Mandrell said. “Without the help and motivation from them, my coaches, and parents I wouldn’t have been in this situation, and I thank them for that.”
The next scholarship award given was the Alumni Medal. This was awarded to three students, junior men’s swimmer, Nathan Braddock, junior baseball player, Ryan Colbert, and sophomore women’s rower, Analiese Bush.
The WC Alumni Board selects student-athletes to be awarded with this for improvements in academics and athletics over their years that the Board has noticed.
“It isn’t easy to balance academics with athletics so I was very grateful that the school recognized all the effort I put into succeeding in the classroom,” Braddock said after receiving the award.
“To be honest, I was a little surprised when I found out I would be receiving the Alumni Scholarship Award. I was not expecting any recognition,” Colbert said. “I expect a lot out of myself and expect to do well, however it is nice to be recognized for all I put into keeping my grades up.”
The last scholarship awarded by WC was the Visitors and Governors Medal. This award is given to the single student-athlete of the junior class that attained the highest academic GPA. This was given to Annalie Buscarino, a goalkeeper on the women’s soccer team.
“I was humbled to receive notice that I won the award considering all of the obstacles we have faced as a class over the past two semesters. The inordinate stressors that COVID has placed on our academic and personal lives make opportunities for success even more rewarding,” Buscarino said.
All recipients were thankful for the College taking the time to recognize themselves, teammates, and peers who are consistently working hard on and off the court or field.