Naples High School's Lane Calkins wins 2022 Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete award

The 33rd annual Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete Award banquet was back Thursday, and it went all the way back to a familiar place.

Naples High School's Lane Calkins won the award at Naples Grande Beach Resort on Thursday night.

She becomes the 11th Naples High School student-athlete to win the award, and the first since Michael Walker in 2015.

"Honestly I have no words for any of it at all," Calkins said. "To be chosen not only out of those 13 but to represent the legacy of all of the ones who have been chosen before me it's something that I can't properly put into words."

It's the first time in three years Collier County's prestigious scholar-athlete award will be presented in person. The coronavirus pandemic canceled the banquet the past two years, although finalists and winners were still named.

Calkins has been a standout in lacrosse for years, and will play the sport at Princeton. She also participated in soccer, swimming and cross country in high school.

More: Meet the 13 Collier County 2022 Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete Award finalists

More: Finalists for Collier County's 2022 Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete announced

More: Which Collier County athlete won the 2021 Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete award?

Calkins was a U.S. Lacrosse and Under Armour All-American, but also played a role in the girls soccer team, which went all the way to the state championship game.

"I'm lost for words," Naples High girls lacrosse coach Jayson Saunders said. "I don't think Lane would say she's ever heard me lost for words. It's come several times knowing her throughout the course of her career, she's a phenomenal, phenomenal human being.

"(Her parents) Ed and Linda did a phenomenal job just raising a special person. I don't think this county is going to see a gem like Lane for a while. She's made my life very enjoyable to live. Just to see her accomplishments it's outstanding."

Calkins won Naples High School's George Pittman Award as its top female student-athlete as a junior. Ryan Iamurri is the only other junior to win the award, and she also went on to win the Winged Foot award in 2010.

All 13 candidates from Collier County high schools were interviewed by the Winged Foot selection committee earlier this month, and the committee then met and chose a winner.

The past two years, the committee has not conducted finalist interviews, and has met and chosen a winner virtually due to the pandemic.

This year's other Winged Foot finalists, in alphabetical order, were:

Tiffany Breuler, Barron Collier

Hannah Casey, First Baptist Academy

Christina Colin, Immokalee

Taylor Dahlke, Everglades City

Dawson Jones, St. John Neumann

Yosiel Lopez, Golden Gate

Sonia Lountchenko, Palmetto Ridge

Nick Molloy, Community School

Reese Tremitiere, Gulf Coast

Nicholas Vergo, Marco Island Academy

Rebecca Weir, Seacrest

Mia Witthoff, Lely

The Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete Foundation gave $5,000 to each of the finalists. Calkins will receive a $10,000 scholarship – $2,500 a year for four years; the other finalists receive one-time stipends.

Former NFL quarterback and current college football analyst Gary Danielson was the keynote speaker.

Danielson, who also was the keynote speaker in 2017, spoke of overcoming road blocks in life and making the best out of them. He went from a quarterback at Purdue to not being drafted into the NFL and toiling for four years in minor professional leagues. Friends and coaches even had a sort of intervention during that time to kind of let him know that maybe he wasn't good enough.

But one day Danielson was working out when a quarterback who was supposed to throw to a wide receiver who was working out for the NFL Draft didn't show up. Danielson ended up catching the eye of a scout for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Danielson used that to help get a chance with the Detroit Lions, his childhood team.

Danielson started six seasons for the Lions and also played with the Cleveland Browns.

"It ain't fair," said Danielson, 70. "It's not gonna be fair. You need to toughen up. You really do. It's 'You should've got that job, you've should've got that assignment, you should've won that game.' It happens, and it happens to all of us.

"It's not a dead end. It's just a roadblock. Forget the 'It ain't fair.' Just find a way."

Former Naples High School football coach Bill Kramer was the emcee for the first time.

Former Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete award winners Lynn Miller of Naples (1995), Ethan Altaratz of Naples (1996), Ingrid Schumacher of Naples (2004),  and A.J. Prokop-Ervin of Naples (2011) were at the banquet.

Graduating seniors from Collier County high schools are eligible for the award, which was first given in 1990 by the Collier Athletic Club.

Each candidate was required to complete an extensive application process in order to be considered by their respective schools. Each school then determined its representative.

Trace Davidson of Gulf Coast High School won the honor last year. He is a lacrosse player and is headed to Maryland.

Event sponsors are the Barron Collier Jr. Foundation, law firm Grant Fridkin Pearson, A.J. Gallagher Insurance, the Lutgert Companies/Premier Sotheby's International, and First Horizon Bank.

This story will be updated.

Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete Award

Winners

1990 — Terry Dean, Barron Collier

1991 — Rich Hill, Barron Collier

1992 — Danny Bond, Naples

1993 — Ryan Krzykowski, Lely

1994 — Jean Bonnici , Naples

1995 — Lynn Miller, Naples

1996 — Ethan Altaratz, Naples

1997 — Jacki Haar, Lely

1998 — Carissa Johnson, Immokalee

1999 — Kelly Roloff, Barron Collier

2000 — Lars Grimm, Community School

2001 — Shannon McGregor, St. John Neumann

2002 — Eric Beights, Lely

2003 — Alyssa Van Gemert, Barron Collier

2004 — Ingrid Schumacher, Naples

2005 — Wiselet Rouzard, Immokalee

2006 — Lee Campbell, Gulf Coast

2007 — Samantha Milne, Palmetto Ridge

2008 — Kelsey Assarian, Barron Collier; Jack Swanson, Naples

2009 — Taylor Burfield, Community School

2010 — Ryan Iamurri, Naples

2011 — A.J. Prokop-Ervin, Naples

2012 — Brett Clark, Barron Collier

2013 — Danielle Avery, Naples

2014 — Ryan Celano, Community School

2015 — Michael Walker, Naples

2016 — Stephanie Paul, Community School

2017 — Emily Browne, Barron Collier

2018 — Paula Gomes, Gulf Coast

2019 — Jensen Jones, St. John Neumann

2020 — Malaya Melancon, First Baptist

2021 — Trace Davidson, Gulf Coast

Keynote speakers

1990 — Dick Vitale

1991 — Joe Theismann

1992 — Bobby Bowden

1993 — Chris Berman

1994 — Steve Spurrier

1995 — Dan Dierdorf

1996 — Bill Walton

1997 — Brooks Robinson

1998 — Zach Thomas

1999 — Jack Kemp

2000 — Bonnie Blair

2001 — Tony Dungy

2002 — Larry Coker

2003 — John Lynch

2004 — Dominique Dawes

2005 — Mike Eruzione

2006 — Joe Morgan

2007 — Brian Billick

2008 — Lou Holtz

2009 — Urban Meyer

2010 — Dick Vitale

2011 — Tim Tebow

2012 — Brandi Chastain

2013 — Brian Kelly

2014 — Jon Gruden

2015 — Shane Battier

2016 — Desmond Howard

2017 — Gary Danielson

2018 — Curtis Strange

2019 — Cal Ripken Jr.

2020 — No banquet

2021 — No banquet

2022 — Gary Danielson

Greg Hardwig is a sports reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @NDN_Ghardwig, email him at ghardwig@naplesnews.com. Support local journalism with this special subscription offer at https://cm.naplesnews.com/specialoffer/

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: 2022 Winged Foot award: Naples High's Lane Calkins wins