Aaron Brooks
North Hagerstown High School
Impact Statement
“When you’re in front of a big crowd, you gotta realize they are here to see you, so let’s go out and put on a show.” -Aaron Brooks
Biography
Brooks capped off a brilliant scholastic career by becoming only the seventh wrestler to ever capture four NHSCA championships at the 29 th annual NHSCA High School Nationals in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Brooks, who will attend Penn State for the 2019-20 season after training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado this coming year, also became just the seventh Maryland wrestler to win four state championships. He finished his career at North Hagerstown with a 163-2 record.
At the Senior Nationals in March, Brooks finished a perfect 6-0, pinning three-time Utah state champ Cole Moody in 1:23 in the 170-pound final. He won the Jeff Reese Memorial Award as the Senior Nationals’ Outstanding Wrestler. Brooks also won the Craig Wesner Memorial Award for recording the most pins in the least amount of time.
Brooks spent a year training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs as part of the Elite Accelerator Program before enrolling at Penn State. In his true freshman season, Brooks capped off a 15-1 record with his only loss coming half way through the season. He was the Big-10 Champion at 184. Due to Covid, the NCAA’s were canceled. Brooks was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was a First Team All-American.
As a sophomore, Brooks continued his domination and finished with a 14-0 record. He was the NCAA Champion at 184 and claimed his second Big-10 title. He was a finalist for the coveted Hodge Trophy. In 2022, Brooks won another NCAA title for the Nittany Lions.
Videos
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Personal Honors
Dorman High School
“When it’s out of my control and out of my hands, I just have to make the most of the situation that I’m in.”
-Thayer Hall
Thayer Hall
Dorman High School
Impact Statement
“When it’s out of my control and out of my hands, I just have to make the most of the situation that I’m in.”
-Thayer Hall
Biography
Hall, who has accepted a scholarship to play volleyball at the University of Florida, led her school to a South Carolina 5A state championship and a No. 7 ranking in the USA TODAY Super 25 national volleyball rankings. She finished the season with 638 kills, 361 digs, 43 service aces and 36 blocks. She is a three-time South Carolina Class 5A Player of the Year, plus a member of the U.S Women’s Junior National Team.
Hall, who carries a 4.94 grade point average, was also named Gatorade’s National Volleyball Player of the Year and she’s a two-time winner of South Carolina’s Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year.
In her first year at Florida, Hall was named to the SEC All-Freshmen Team. She was also AVCA All American Honorable Mention. Her sophomore year, she was named to the SEC All-Team. In addition, she was an AVCA All-Southeast Region honoree. Off the court, she was named to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll both years. The next two years, Hall would again be named to the SEC All-Team.
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Hamburg High School
Wilson, who owns a 3.86 GPA in the classroom, is also a two-time winner of Gatorade’s Arkansas Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Tiana Wilson
Hamburg High School
Impact Statement
Wilson, who owns a 3.86 GPA in the classroom, is also a two-time winner of Gatorade’s Arkansas Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Biography
Wilson closed out her scholastic career with three gold medals at the Class 4A state championships. She won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes. She set state records in the 100 and 200 at the Arkansas Meet of Champions. For her high school career, Wilson won eleven gold medals.
Wilson, who owns a 3.86 GPA in the classroom, is also a two-time winner of Gatorade’s Arkansas Track and Field Athlete of the Year. She will attend the University of Arkansas on an athletic scholarship.
Wilson competed in 13 events as a freshman. As a sophomore, she was named the SEC Runner of the Week after posting a career best in the 400m race at the Arkansas Qualifier. She was part of the 4-400 relay team that took fourth at the SEC Indoor Championships before the season was ended early due to Covid.
Wilson shined in 2021. She was the bronze medalist at the NCAA Indoor Championships as a member of the 4×400 Relay.
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Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Bel Air High School
McDermott tallied five state tiles while at Bel Air. He looks to continue his success at Princeton.
Kieran McDermott
Bel Air High School
Impact Statement
McDermott tallied five state tiles while at Bel Air. He looks to continue his success at Princeton.
Biography
McDermott won three gold medals this spring in Maryland’s 3A state championships. He won the 800 and 1,600 meter races. His 800-meter time of one-minute 59-point-90 seconds set a Maryland state record. McDermott also anchored the gold medal winning 4X800 meter relay team.
McDermott, who earned a 3.87 GPA in the classroom, will continue his running career at Princeton University.
McDermott competed in a handful of events his freshman year for the Tigers.
Records
Personal Honors
Elkhorn South High School
“But sometimes you need to lose to learn the areas you need to get better at. Hopefully I can turn it into a positive for me in the end.” -Samantha Mannix
Samantha Mannix
Elkhorn South High School
Impact Statement
“But sometimes you need to lose to learn the areas you need to get better at. Hopefully I can turn it into a positive for me in the end.” -Samantha Mannix
Biography
Mannix recently closed out her high school career by winning her fourth straight Nebraska No.1 singles title.
After the match, the Iowa-recruit told Omaha.com, “It was one of my goals since I was probably in middle school. I am ready to move on (to college), but I’m so glad that I was able to represent Elkhorn South.” Mannix was a perfect 114-0 during her scholastic career.
She is the fourth girls in Nebraska girls’ tennis history to win four straight No. 1 singles titles.
Mannix saw action her first two seasons as a Hawkeye. She had a 4-6 record at the No. 2 position before the season was canceled due to Covid. She was a letterman winner. In the spring of 2021, Mannix was named Academic All-Big Ten and the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. She was also an ITA Scholar Athlete.
Articles
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Personal Honors
Panther Creek High School
“I thought Northwestern is where my tennis can really prosper the most and it’s a great academic opportunity.” -Trice Pickens
Trice Pickens
Panther Creek High School
Impact Statement
“I thought Northwestern is where my tennis can really prosper the most and it’s a great academic opportunity.” -Trice Pickens
Biography
As a senior Pickens captured North Carolina’s 4A single championship with an impressive 6-2, 6-2 win over Mark Dillon of Myers Park in the state finals. The win avenged back-to-back losses in the finals as a sophomore and junior.
Pickens, who is considered a 5-star recruit by the Tennis Recruiting Network, will go on to play college tennis at Northwestern University. When he made his decision to attend Northwestern, he told Zoo Tennis, “It’s a very disciplined tennis program, and I think Coach Arvid really focuses on development as a college and even a pro player afterwards. So that was a big part of me choosing there. The academics, you can’t ignore that — that’s a big part of it. I thought Northwestern is where my tennis can really prosper the most and it’s a great academic opportunity.”
Pickens has made an impact at Northwestern. His sophomore year, he won a handful of matches, including the No. 3 singles against UIC.
Records
Personal Honors
Fossil Ridge High School
Bartel closed out her incredible scholastic swimming career with four gold medals at the Class 5A Colorado Swimming and Diving Championships.
Zoe Bartel
Fossil Ridge High School
Impact Statement
Bartel closed out her incredible scholastic swimming career with four gold medals at the Class 5A Colorado Swimming and Diving Championships.
Biography
Bartel closed out her incredible scholastic swimming career with four gold medals at the Class 5A Colorado Swimming and Diving Championships. She won the 200 IM in 1:59.17 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:00.47. She was also on two gold medal winning relay teams, including the 200-yard medley relay team that set a new national record at the state championships. Bartel and her teammates scored a state record 424 points to capture the school’s second straight state title and third in the last four years.
Bartel, who will attend Stanford University on a scholarship, swam in three events at the 2016 Olympic Trials. While she didn’t qualify for the Olympics, she did win two gold medals at the 2016 Junior Pan Pacs in Hawaii.
In her first two seasons at Stanford, Bartel was part of two Pac-12 championship teams and the NCAA Championship team as a freshman. As a sophomore, Bartel earned two All American honors in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. She also was an All American as a freshman in the 100 breaststroke. Additionally, Bartel was a CSCAA Scholar All-American as a freshman. As a junior, she swam in three NCAA events.
Bartel gracefully retired from competitive swimming in the fall of 2021 to pursue her dreams outside of the pool.
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Carmel High School
Kibler closed out his scholastic career by leading Carmel to a fourth straight state championship and a national championship. The following year he was an NCAA Champion for the Texas Longhorns.
Drew Kibler
Carmel High School
Impact Statement
Kibler closed out his scholastic career by leading Carmel to a fourth straight state championship and a national championship. The following year he was an NCAA Champion for the Texas Longhorns.
Biography
Kibler closed out his scholastic career by leading Carmel to a fourth straight state championship and a national championship. Kibler captured two individual gold medals at the state championship in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard fly. He also won two golds as a part of the school’s 200 and 400-yard relay teams.
In the state preliminary round, Kibler set a national record in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 19.38 seconds. Kibler, who has accepted a scholarship to the University of Texas, is also a member of the U.S. National Team. He won four gold medals at the U.S. Winter National Championships in December 2017.
Kibler was named the Big 12 Conference Men’s Newcomer of the Year as a freshman at Texas. As a freshman, he announced himself on the national scene as he was on the team that won the 800 free relay at the NCAA’s. Additionally, he was a three time All American. The NCAA’s his sophomore year were canceled due to Covid.
In the midst of his college career, Kibler earned three medals, two Silver and one Bronze, at the 2019 Pan-American Games. In 2020, made the Olympic team and competed as a leg of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the Olympic Games held in the summer 2021 in Tokyo.
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Grant Community High School
Bengston was named team MVP three times and set a single-season record with 70 RBI’s.
Erin Bengston
Grant Community High School
Impact Statement
Bengston was named team MVP three times and set a single-season record with 70 RBI’s.
Biography
Bengston is a four-year member of Grant’s varsity team during which time she’s been named the team’s MVP as a freshman, sophomore and junior. She was also the team captain as a sophomore, junior and senior. Last season she hit 22 home runs, which was tied for the third most in the state of Illinois. She also set a single-season record with 70 RBI’s.
Bengston, who will attend Holy Cross, won the team’s Scholar Athlete in 2015, 2016 and 2017, plus she’s a member of the National Honor Society. She is currently serving as team captain during her senior season.
Bengston started 47 of 48 games as a freshman. She set a single season record with 16 doubles. She had an .291 batting average. Her sophomore season was off to a similar start until it ended due to Covid. She started in all 11 games and led the team with six runs batted in.
She started 11 games during the shortened 2020 season and all 28 in 2021. She was named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll three times over the duration of her career. She was also a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
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Personal Honors
Penn High School
Lynch capped an incredible scholastic career with 44 goals and 18 assists while leading Penn to its second straight Indiana high school state championship.
Kristina Lynch
Penn High School
Impact Statement
Lynch capped an incredible scholastic career with 44 goals and 18 assists while leading Penn to its second straight Indiana high school state championship.
Biography
Lynch capped an incredible scholastic career with 44 goals and 18 assists while leading Penn to its second straight Indiana high school state championship. Lynch, who graduated early with a 4.2 grade point average, is already enrolled at Florida State University where she’s working at playing as a freshman.
Lynch, who was the IndyStar’s Girls’ Athlete of the Year and Soccer Player of the Year, ended he career as Penn’s all-time leading scorer with 130 career goals and 68 assists. Penn finished the 2017 season ranked No. 3 in the national in the USA TODAY Super 25 Fall National Rankings.
Lynch made an impact immediately. She scored the winning goal as a freshman in the SEC Championship game, leading the Seminoles to their sixth title. They went on to win the NCAA National tournament. Her sophomore year Lynch played in the first fifteen games because suffering a season ending injury.
Lynch’s junior year was shortened due to the pandemic but she still exceled on the field. She started 14 of 15 games. She was the FSU Golden Torch winner in 2020. In 2021, she and the Seminoles continued their success with another NCAA National title.
Additionally, Lynch was uber successful in the classroom as well. She was named All-ACC Academic Team twice and CoSIDA Academic All-Region her senior year. She was the honoree of the NCAA Elite 90 Award that is given to the student-athlete with the top GPA among those playing in the NCAA Championships.
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Rockhurst High School
Ruark was Missouri’s Class 4 Player of the Year, leading the Rockhurst Hawklets to a state championship during the 2017 season.
Kyle Ruark
Rockhurst High School
Impact Statement
Ruark was Missouri’s Class 4 Player of the Year, leading the Rockhurst Hawklets to a state championship during the 2017 season.
Biography
Ruark was Missouri’s Class 4 Player of the Year, leading the Rockhurst Hawklets to a state championship during the 2017 season. Ruark scored 26 goals, including the game-winning goal in the state championship game. He also had 13 assists this past season.
Ruark, who will attend the University of Chicago, was a two-year captain for Rockhurst and was named an Academic All-American.
Ruark has seen action in 39 games over the first two seasons at Chicago. He was named UAA All-Academic in 2020.
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Personal Honors
Germantown High School
“I’m pretty quiet but I just keep to myself and try to focus on my score, don’t worry about my past holes and everything.” -Presley Baggett
Presley Baggett
Germantown High School
Impact Statement
“I’m pretty quiet but I just keep to myself and try to focus on my score, don’t worry about my past holes and everything.” -Presley Baggett
Biography
Baggett won her third overall Mississippi state championship during her senior season, winning the Class 5A championship by nine shots. She’s a four-time member of the All-State Girls’ Golf Team. In 2017 she won the Mississippi Junior Golf Association Girls’ Junior Championship.
Baggett has received a scholarship to play at LSU. Her coach there, Karen Bahnsen, said this about her signing, “I have never seen a player that wanted to play for LSU more than Presley.”
Her freshman year at LSU, she was named Louisiana Women’s Golf Freshman of the Year. She was the highest placing Tiger at the SEC Championships. She was also named to the All-Louisiana Team. Her sophomore year was cut short due to Covid, although she compete in fiver regular seasons events.
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Gaffney High School
“Of the 10 birdie putts I made, they all went in dead-center. Perfect stroke, perfect line.”
Zack Gordon
Gaffney High School
Impact Statement
“Of the 10 birdie putts I made, they all went in dead-center. Perfect stroke, perfect line.”
Biography
Gordon closed out his scholastic career with an incredible performance at the South Carolina Class 5A individual championships.
Gordon, who will attend Clemson University on a golf scholarship, won the state championship by shattering the state scoring record that was previously held by current PGA Tour golfer Bill Haas. Gordon shot a 66 and 62 to capture the state title. Gaffney also won the team championship.
Gordon also won the 2016 Carolinas Junior PGA Championship in Conway, South Carolina last summer when he had consecutive rounds of 68. He made a hole-in-one at that tournament. Gordon won the 2017 CGA South Carolina Junior Match Play Championship.
During the first two years at Clemson, Gordon held a 72.43 stroke average for those 40 rounds. He qualified for the NCAA tournament as a freshman.
Records
Personal Honors
Mater Dei High School
Impact Statement Placeholder
JT Daniels
Mater Dei High School
Impact Statement
Impact Statement Placeholder
Biography
Daniels had an outstanding high school football career that he capped with a CIF Open Division championship in December. This win led to Mater Dei being ranked No. 1 in the High School Football America Top 100. Daniels passed for 4,123 yards and 52 touchdowns this past season. He rushed for 556 yards and nine touchdowns.
In the classroom Daniels has a weighted 4.18 GPA, plus he has spent countless hours volunteering and serving as a youth football coach. Due to his outstanding academics Daniels was able to reclassify from a junior to a senior and will enter the University of Southern California on a football scholarship early.
As a freshman at USC, Daniels started in 11 games. He threw for over 2,800 yards. The first game of his sophomore season he suffered a season ending knee injury. In May of 2020 Daniels announced he would be transferring to the University of Georgia.
Daniels started the last four games of the 2020 season finishing with 1231 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Videos
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Personal Honors
Summit High School
Andretta closed-out her incredible scholastic career by becoming New Jersey’s first hockey player to score 100 goals and 100 assists in her career.
Gabby Andretta
Summit High School
Impact Statement
Andretta closed-out her incredible scholastic career by becoming New Jersey’s first hockey player to score 100 goals and 100 assists in her career.
Biography
Andretta closed-out her incredible scholastic career by becoming New Jersey’s first hockey player to score 100 goals and 100 assists in her career. Gabby led Oak Knoll to its third Non-Public Schools state championship in four years, plus a Tournament of Champions championship by scoring 40 goals with 35 assists. She finished her career with 106 goals and 107 assists.
Andretta, who will play field hockey at Princeton, was named first team All-State and New Jersey’s Field Hockey Player of the Year by NJ.com. The National Field Hockey Coaches Association honored Gabby with its Scholar of Distinction, which is bestowed upon players with a grade point average above 3.9 in the classroom.
Thus far at Princeton, Andretta has started every game as a freshman and sophomore.
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Personal Honors
Lansing Catholic High School
Theis was named Gatorade’s Michigan Girls’ Cross Country runner of the year.
Olivia Theis
Lansing Catholic High School
Impact Statement
Theis was named Gatorade’s Michigan Girls’ Cross Country runner of the year.
Biography
Theis closed-out her scholastic career by finishing third at the national Football Locker Cross County Championships where she earned All-American honors. The 5-foot-6 senior won the Michigan Division 2 championship which helped her school win the overall team championship.
In the classroom Theis maintains a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Theis, who has accepted a scholarship to run at the University of Michigan in the fall, was also named Gatorade’s Michigan Girls’ Cross Country Runner of the Year.
Theis redshirted her freshman year. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, her first season was canceled.
Community Service
She volunteers in her community, serving as a student ambassador and a peer leader at Lansing Catholic.
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Timpview High School
Troutner closed-out his scholastic cross country career in exciting fashion with a come-from-behind win at the Nike Cross Nationals.
Aiden Troutner
Timpview High School
Impact Statement
Troutner closed-out his scholastic cross country career in exciting fashion with a come-from-behind win at the Nike Cross Nationals.
Biography
Troutner closed-out his scholastic cross country career in exciting fashion with a come-from-behind win at the Nike Cross Nationals.
Troutner won the boys’ national championship by coming from fourth place with 600 meters to go to upset race favorite Brodey Hasty from Brentwood, Tennessee. It was the third straight year that a Utah runner won the boys’ national championship. The 2017 NHSCA Senior Boys’ Cross Country Athlete of the Year, Casey Clinger of American Fork High School, won the same race in 2016.
In addition to the national championship, Troutner won Utah’s 5A state championship in October. After winning his state title Troutner said, “I got third last year, and felt really good about it. So this year I knew I had a really good chance to win it.” Troutner won the 5A title with a time of 14-minutes-48.8 seconds.
Troutner, who will attend Brigham Young University, excels in the classroom and volunteers in his community. He was honored as KUTV TV’s America First Scholar Athlete in the fall.
Personal Honors
The Lovett School
Brown excelled both on the court and in the classroom at the Lovett School and then at Stanford.
Jenna Jones
The Lovett School
Impact Statement
Brown excelled both on the court and in the classroom at the Lovett School and then at Stanford.
Biography
Brown, who will attend Stanford University on a basketball scholarship, is considered a 5-star recruit. After missing her entire junior year with a knee injury, she bounced back this past season by averaging 24 points per game with 9.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.4 steals per contest. She led her team to a 25-5 record, advancing The Lovett School to the Class AAA quarterfinals.
In her high school career, Brown logged 1,703 points and 572 rebounds.
In 2016 she was a member of the USA Basketball Under-17 National Team that won a bronze medal at the World Championships. Brown, who maintains an A-average in the classroom and volunteers in the community, was Gatorade’s Georgia Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
At Stanford, Brown has appeared in 58 games over her first two years. She missed the last seven games of her sophomore season. She went on to medically redshirt during the 2020-2021 season. She was part of the Pac-12 championship team as a freshman.
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Apple Valley High School
“It’s all off of instincts. I like to play fast and I feel like if I get the rebound we can start the break right away.” -Tre Jones
Tre Jones
Apple Valley High School
Impact Statement
“It’s all off of instincts. I like to play fast and I feel like if I get the rebound we can start the break right away.” -Tre Jones
Biography
Jones, who was a two-time winner of Gatorade’s Minnesota Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year award, won two state championships during his incredible career at Apple Valley that concluded in March with a runner-up finish in the Class 4A state championship game. As the team’s point guard, he averaged 23 points per game with over eight rebounds per contest and over six assists per game.
Jones, who carries a 3.53 grade point average, volunteers as a youth basketball coach and is part of an elementary school literacy outreach program. He was selected for the McDonald’s All-American Game and was named the Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year.
Jones, who has accepted a scholarship to Duke University, is the younger brother of Tyrus Jones, who currently plays for the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jones played at Duke for two seasons before entering the Draft. As a sophomore, he was named the ACC Player of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year. He entered the 2020 NBA Draft and was selected 41st overall by the San Antonio Spurs.
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Mountain Ridge High School
In 2017 Matthew played on the U-18 Team USA that won gold at the U-18 World Cup in Canada.
Matthew Liberatore
Mountain Ridge High School
Impact Statement
In 2017 Matthew played on the U-18 Team USA that won gold at the U-18 World Cup in Canada.
Biography
The 6-5, lefthanded throwing Liberatore was selected as the 16th overall pick in the 2018 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. Some have compared him to current Los Angeles Dodgers all-star Clayton Kershaw. Liberatore finished his senior season with a record of 8-1 with a 0.93 ERA.
In 60 innings, he struck out 104 batters with only 25 walks. Opponents batted .134 against him. In 2017, he played on the U-18 Team USA that won gold at the U-18 World Cup in Canada. He was also the MVP of the Under Armour All-America Games at Wrigley Field and played in the Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park in San Diego.
In January of 2020, Liberatore was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals.