Added perk for award finalists
Athlete of the Year candidates to receive college scholarship checks
LAKE COUNTY >> Athlete of the Year winners and finalists will soon receive checks courtesy of the Lake County Record-Bee that they can use toward their college educations.
Finalists for the 201920 award will receive $250 apiece while the winners will each receive $500. The money was raised through advertising revenue that was part of the special promotion for the Athlete of the Year candidates. Each finalist received a full-page photo in the print edition that highlighted his or her achievements during the sports season. Advertisers appeared on the reverse side.
Two more full-page photos are yet to come. The girls Athlete of the Year winner, Allison Bryant of Kelseyville High School, will appear in Saturday’s print edition while boys Athlete of the Year winner Travis Howe of Clear Lake High School will appear in Wednesday’s print edition.
The Record-Bee has honored the county’s top male and female high school athletes since the 198788 sports season. This year’s finalists among the girls were Bryant, Middletown’s Sophie Kucer, Abbey Brown and Brianna Alves, and Clear Lake’s Shaelyn McIntire. Finalists among the boys were Howe, Clear Lake’s Jaron Mertle and Darius Ford, Middletown’s Jared Pyzer and Lower Lake’s Vann Wilkins.
Coach of the Year winners in 2019- 20 were Lamont Kucer of Middletown High School girls soccer and Scott De Leon of Clear Lake High School varsity boys basketball.
Athlete of the Year candidates and winners are selected by the Record-Bee based on a set of criteria and with much input from local and league coaches and sports officials. Candidates must be juniors or seniors who are in good academic standing at their respective schools. Most years athletes are required to play at least two varsity sports, however that number was cut to one for the 2019-20 sports season because the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out nearly all of the 2020 spring sports season.