Sports Awards Honor Grier Athletes

5/11/2020

In years past, Grier varsity athletes have been honored at a Sports Awards Banquet, but because we could not hold the banquet this year, Grier’s Athletic Director Cherie Gates hosts the event online. Thanks to the contributions of Ms. Cherie, all the varsity coaches, and the video-editing of Grier’s own Mr. Bryan Beckle, Grier proudly presents The Grier Varsity Sports Awards 2020!

The Grier Varsity Sports Awards 2020

Riding

Following an introduction by Ms. Cherie, Grier’s Riding Director Chrystal Wood shares the Riding awards and announces the 2020-21 Captains.

Hunt Seat

MVP Fences: Sydney Richmond
MVP Flat: Sophia Olivero
Most Improved: Leaila Thomas
Rookie of the Year: Nichole Hobert

Dressage

MVP Test: Grace Walker
MVP Dressage Seat Equitation: Lindsay Shaw
Most Improved: Yazmin Wilson
Rookie of the Year: Royce Ma

Western

MVP: Catie Reachard
Rookie of the Year: Olivia Mack
Most Improved: Marcella Bee

Sportsmanship: Lilly Fraley
Crossover Rider: Grace Walker

Crossover Rider honors the rider who accumulated the most points in 2019-2020 for all three disciplines of Hunt Seat, Western, and Dressage. Grace was one of only two riders out of 14,500+ riders in all of IEA to qualify for regionals in all three disciplines in both classes for each discipline!

Tennis

Next, Coach Kelly Forest gives the awards for Tennis, featuring photos of the whole team. The Tennis team ended their season 6:2:1. Mrs. Forest also thanked Co-Coach Kitty Moyer.

Most Improved: Arin Afolayan
Outstanding Teammate: co-captains Maggie Ackley and Chaewon Lee
MVP: Maggie Ackley

Archery

Coach Katt Barr presented awards for Archery.

High Point Archer: Payton McCalla
Diana Award: Payton McCalla and April Han

Basketball

Next up, Coach Kaitlyn Wyland shared some of the most memorable moments from the eventful Basketball season before announcing the names of the award winners.

Most Valuable Player: Payton McCalla
Most Improved Player(s): Sissi Wu and Maria Canovas
Defensive Player: Elizabeth Crowey
Offensive Player: Sophie Guinn
Most Positive/Most Supportive: Abby Seltzer

Cross-Country

Sprinting toward the finish line, Coach Danielle Kelley gives a shout out to all the Grier varsity athletes, especially the Grier Cross Country team.

Dedication Award: Emily Gao Wang
Leadership Award: Lily Li
MVP: Edith Manfred

Soccer

Coach Steven Packnick thanks the Soccer team for their hard work this year before naming the Varsity Soccer award recipients, including the award for Outstanding Teammate, an award determined by the players.

Outstanding Rookie Season: Annie Qadri
Outstanding Defending: Chantelle Harris
Most Versatile Player: Gia Sprouse
Outstanding Teammate: Chantelle Harris
Coaches’ Award: Sophie Guinn

Dance

Director of Dance Joci Hrzic addresses all the Grier dancers and thanks those who have been able to attend her online classes. While Dance does not present awards in the same way as other Varsity sports, Joci wished to recognize her pre-professional dancers.

Estella Persio
Nova Persio
Sydney Lewis
Lily Chan
Laila White
Rihanna Evelyn
Kirsten Rossi
Abigail Cowan
Natalia Rodal
Veronica Paulo
Grace Matherne
Makenzie Hearn
Jillian Hrzic
T’ Aja Williams
X’ achela Robinson
Callie Cramer
Solana Rios
Otiwaa Ofosuhene
Natalia Tron
Camilla Ramirez
Anna Lovrich*
Shawna Lovrich*
Izzy Holes*
Layla Kurt*

Fencing

Grier’s Varsity Fencing Coach Stuart Crocker honors the team captains and fencers.

“Cheerleader” Captain: Saffie Payne
“Rock” Captain: Mingjin Zhang
Best Fencer: Jiayu (Jasmine) Liu
Best Noob: Riuxuan (Jammy) Jin
Most Improved: Shihan (Judy) Li

Volleyball

Finally, Varsity Volleyball Coach Arron Ort speaks of the incredibly successful season the team experienced. He attributes the success of the team to three main reasons: an abundance of veteran players who were able to lead and teach the new players, the enthusiasm of the rookie players, and the addition of Assistant Coach Bryan Beckle.

Offense Award: Abby Seltzer and Jammy Jin
Defense Award: Maiia Makarova
Heart Award: Payton McCalla
Most Improved: Judy Li
Coaches’ Award: Carina Shalkivski
MVP: Mary Tripp

Wow, thank you, coaches, for that wonderful awards presentation! Sincerest thanks from everyone at Grier to all the athletes, the coaches, and everyone that helped make the 2020 sports season possible. The Grier community loves you, hopes you will stay safe, and looks forward to seeing you again soon!

Learn more about Athletics at Grier.

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Sports Awards Honor Grier Athletes

The Grier Varsity Sports Awards 2020

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