Scholarship winners honored
2020 graduates Holmes, Howe, Mertle excelled at CLHS
Former Clear Lake High School standout athletes Nicholas Holmes, Travis Howe and Jaron Mertle are the recipients of the 29th annual Kyle Reynolds Memorial Scholarship, honoring the late CLHS basketball player.
The scholarship is awarded to CLHS seniors who continue their athletic careers in college. They also must be active in the community and receive recommendations from high school facility members. Holmes, Howe and Mertle, who graduated in 2020, all received high marks for their leadership skills, dedication, dependability, attitude, sportsmanship and determination.
The 2019-20 school year was a challenging one for all athletes, especially seniors. Entire sports seasons were canceled or postponed, classes were held over the Internet, and senior events, including graduation and prom,
were either modified or canceled. Nevertheless, members of the community came together to award scholarships to these three deserving individuals.
Holmes is attending the University of Nevada at Reno and plans to participate in soccer, track and mountain biking while working toward a degree in engineering. He was voted team MVP twice on Clear Lake’s boys soccer team where he earned All-North Central League I honors four consecutive years.
Howe is attending Santa Rosa Junior College and plans to attend the police academy after his college education is complete. He will be playing football for the Bear Cubs. During his Clear Lake career, he earned All-League honors in basketball and football, was named the Record-Bee’s male athlete of the year for the 2019-20 sports season, earned a Rotary Top 40 award, and was named the most inspirational
player at the Paul Larrea Memorial Tournament in basketball.
Mertle is attending the University of California at Merced where he plans to purse a degree in engineering. He is the two-time reigning MVP in basketball in the North Central League I after the Cardinals posted 14-0 league records in 2019 and 2020. He helped lead the Cardinals
to 54 victories during his final two seasons, two undisputed league championships, a section runnerup finish and back-to-back appearances in the NorCal quarterfinals.
The annual award is presented by members of the Reynolds family (Kristin Reynolds, Kelly Schmidt, Kory Reynolds, Judie Reynolds and the late Al Reynolds).