We were happy to present two Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards this year, one to a female and one to a male student athlete. This award recognizes college-bound high school seniors who standout academically and in sports. The winners of this award not only demonstrate excellence in both the classroom and on the field, but their extracurricular endeavors and volunteerism also make them positive models for their peers.
We are thankful to our sponsors of this award, Peerless Cleaning & Restoration, Trinity in Taylorville and Neuhoff Media, for allowing us to provide a $2,000 scholarship to both recipients to use towards college expenses.
Female Scholar Athlete – Emma Dixon, Rochester
Emma was the valedictorian of her class with a 4.87 GPA. She is an Illinois State Scholar and was honored in the student of the year scholarship program while also holding the role of vice president of student council, the secretary of national honor society and a leader of elementary focus in the student advisory group. She helped lead her teams in volleyball and basketball to three regional titles, multiple conference championships and was named to the CS8 all-conference teams in both volleyball and basketball two times in her athletic career. Emma will be attending Purdue University on a pre veterinary track majoring in animal science and minoring in agricultural business.
Male Scholar Athlete – Ben Hermes, New Berlin
Ben competed in three sports all four years of high school while also maintaining a 4.0 GPA and finishing as the top ranked student in his graduating class. He was vice president of National Honor Society and named an Illinois State Scholar. He was a two-year captain on the football and basketball team and named to the 2023 Sangamon County All-Tournament team. Ben also won New Berlin’s Male athlete of the year and scholar athlete of the year awards. Ben will be attending the University of Missouri to study Broadcast Journalism in hopes of becoming a sports broadcaster in the future.