Student-athletes honored at Exchange Club banquet
Korin Whitcomb and Connor Strudwick were named at the Outstanding Athletes of the Year for Sturgis High School on Thursday evening. The duo were honored, along with several other senior student-athletes for Sturgis, at the 99th annual Exchange Club All Sports Banquet.
The event was held at the Sturges-Young Center for the Arts.
Sturgis Athletic Director Andy Hatt was the master of ceremonies for the evening.
Whitcomb will be continuing her track and field career with Michigan State University. Strudwick will continue his football playing career as a preferred walk-on at the University of Tulsa.
Chance Stewart, current varsity football coach and 2014 graduate who was also named Outstanding Athlete of the Year, was the guest speaker at the event. He spoke to those in attendance of accountability and being willing to listen. He offered advice to the seniors in the room to be real with people and be willing to do the hard things in life because adversity is common.
There were only two three-sport athletes recognized. This required playing a sport in all three seasons during their four years of high school. Whitcomb and Matt Toner were recognized for this award.
Toner, prior to the event getting started, also received a special honor. He was officially given his acceptance to the United States Military Academy West Point, which carries a significant emphasis on education.
Toner was then one of 10 Trojans recognized as Scholar-Athlete award winners. Requirements for this recognition carry at least a 3.0 GPA and six varsity letters during their time at Sturgis. Those honored, along with Toner and Whitcomb, were Annabella Bressler, Charles Frost, Hayden Goodman, Juliette Schroeder, Katie Strawser, Strudwick, Tina Tran and Matt Wynes.
Jeff Mohney of Ayres-Oak Insurance was also in attendance. He handed out the Harry Paul Memorial Scholarship awards, which were $500 each to a college-bound senior that was appointed by a coach for the award and carried at least a 3.0 GPA. Toner and Schroeder were picked for the award.
Finishing second for Outstanding Athletes of the Year were Strawser and Toner. Schroeder and Wynes were selected third in voting for the awards.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Student-athletes honored at Exchange Club banquet
