COLUMBUS - A total of $66,000 in college scholarships will be handed out to 54 students during the 20th- annual OHSAA Scholar-Athlete Scholarship Banquet tonight.
Included in that list is Edison graduate Kayla Prokopakis and Steubenville graduate JoJo Pierro.
The scholarship winners were selected by each of the six OHSAA district athletic boards. Of the 54 honorees, 42 will receive $1,000 awards, including six (one from each district) that will be given an OHSAA Minority Scholarship presented by Farmers Insurance.
Twelve students (two from each district) will receive $2,000 awards made possible by the OHSAA Foundation and Taco Bell. Nike and Molten have also contributed to the OHSAA scholarship program, as well as schools that participate in an OHSAA Foundation basketball game, which includes a fee given to the foundation to fund their portion of the scholarships.
"We have had many highlights and displays of sportsmanship this past school year and the scholar-athlete banquet is always one of those special moments, too," said OHSAA Commissioner Dan Ross.
"I look forward to this banquet just as much as the state tournaments because it's an opportunity to see so many students honored for their extraordinary work academically.
"They truly represent what it is all about and their families and schools are to be commended for helping them achieve great things already. I would also like to personally thank the OHSAA Foundation and our corporate partners for their generous support in helping make these scholarships possible."
Scholar-athlete recipients are selected based on a point system which rewards students for grade point averages, ACT or SAT scores, varsity letters earned, individual and team athletic honors and an essay.
There are seven, 10 or 13 recipients from each district, depending upon the number of schools within the district.
The recipients were selected by special committees within each of the six OHSAA athletic districts. Recipients of athletic scholarships from NCAA Division I or II institutions are not eligible for the award.
Prokopakis will attend Ashland University. She earned a 4.0 GPA and was the valedictorian. Prokopakis earned a $2,000 OHSAA Foundation Scholarship.
Pierro is headed to Duquesne University. He earned a 3.96 GPA at Big Red and was No. 3 in the class. Pierro earned a $1,000 scholarship.
