Delran hoopster a finalist for national Naismith Courage award
Delran’s Riley Ahrens has been named a finalist for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Basketball Courage Award.
The senior is one of 10 finalists from across the country. The Atlanta Tipoff Club, which administers the Naismith Awards, will announce a female winner and a male winner on March 7.
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What it means?
Ahrens has become an advocate for teenage mental health following the suicide of her classmate and member of the boys’ basketball team at the school. A captain of the girls’ basketball team, the senior led her teammates to raise funds for a local teen mental health group and organized a memorial before each home basketball game in her classmate’s honor.
Ahrens was one of hundreds of candidates across the nation who were nominated by coaches, parents and athletic directors.
“Once again, as nominations came in, we learned of so many inspirational stories about courageous high school basketball student-athletes across the country who are role models for others,” Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club, said. “We are thrilled to celebrate Riley as one of our 10 finalists for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Basketball Courage Award, as she exemplifies all this award stands for.”
What’s next?
The two final winners will receive a $2,000 donation to the players’ high school basketball program in their honor and will reward each overall winner with an addition $2,000 per student, from Jersey Mike’s.
Winners will be announced through a video tribute shared across the Naismith Tropy and Jersey Mike’s websites and social media accounts on March 7.
Profile
The Kean University-bound Ahrens surpassed the 1,000-career point mark this winter. She’ll lead the Bears into the Central Jersey Group 2 tournament with an opening-round game at Roselle on Feb. 21.
Tom McGurk is a regional sports editor for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Delran's Riley Ahrens is finalist for national Naismith Courage Award
