For what now has become the norm, the annual Better Sports Club of Arlington’s awards banquet was a shorter hour-long ceremony without a sitdown dinner or guest speaker, held this year at the Knights of Columbus Hall.
The 68th annual event on June 11 concentrated instead on handing out individual honors. High-school seniors and youth athletes from throughout Arlington County were honored for their overall excellence during competition, in the classroom and for their involvement in the community. Club members and two high-school coaches also received awards.
Local broadcaster Byron Kerr returned as the event’s longtime master of ceremonies.
As each student-athlete winner was introduced, Kerr read their many accomplishments and often added where they will attend college in the fall.
Two of the biggest awards were for the athletes of the year.
• Wakefield High School’s Samantha Stewart was chosen the Female High School Student Athlete of the Year.
• Yorktown High School’s Hudson Greene was the Male High School Student Athlete of the Year.
• The two high-school Coaches of the Year were Washington-Liberty High School head football coach Josh Shapiro and Yorktown girls soccer coach Hannah Davis.
The club’s Arlington Sportsperson of the Year was Frank DeMarco of the Arlington Soccer Association. The club’s President’s Award went to Chandler Fox. The Challenger Sportsman of the Year award went to Jacob Bower.
There were 27 individual high-school Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards, which follow:
Washington-Liberty’s Jack Couture, baseball; Washington-Liberty’s Harriet Shapiro, girls basketball; Wakefield’s Carlton Young, boys basketball; Bishop O’Connell’s Daniela Salinas, cheer; Wakefield’s Natalie Kaldahl, girls crew; Wakefield’s Nathan Murphy, boys crew; Bishop O’Connell’s Molly Weithman, girls cross country; Yorktown’s Matthew Pedicano, boys cross country; Yorktown’s Ellie Grieco, dance; Yorktown’s Alexis Williams, field hockey; Washington-Liberty’s Jonathan Bhojwani, football; Yorktown’s Riley Scheffel, girls golf; Bishop O’Connell’s Miles Woodcock, boys golf; Washington-Liberty’s Alana Johnson, gymnastics; Bishop O’Connell’s Campbell Thompson, girls ice hockey; Washington-Liberty’s Sam Lukas, boys ice hockey; Yorktown’s Libby LaPierre, girls lacrosse; Washington-Liberty’s William Clarke, boys lacrosse; Wakefield’s Katie Driscoll, rifle; Yorktown’s Abigail Litterst, girls soccer; Washington-Liberty’s Joseph Cordaro, boys soccer; Yorktown’s Kelly Chmiel, softball; Yorktown’s Rachel Conley, girls swim and dive; Washington-Liberty’s Eli Martin, boys swim and dive.
Also, Washington-Liberty’s Gianna Felder, girls tennis; Washington-Liberty’s Nathanael Scheer, boys tennis; Wakefield’s Addison Young, girls track and field; Washington-Liberty’s Jackson Nowinski, boys track and field; H-B Woodlawn’s Gabby Everett, girls Ultimate Disc; H-B Woodlawn’s Mitchell Blaha, boys Ultimate Disc; Bishop O’Connell’s Erin Debiec, volleyball; Wakefield’s Nicole Barahona-Rios, girls wrestling; and Washington-Liberty’s Dominik Woodard, boys wrestling.
Each honored athlete received a trophy stating the name of the award.
