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Scholar Athletes 2009

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Colon scholarship winner: Bishop McGuinness' Gabe Ikard

Sports | Updated: Sun, Jun 14, 2009 | Comment on this article

Gabe Ikard was slacking. That was the only explanation his parents could muster when they received his academic progress report from Bishop McGuinness earlier this spring. Maybe those football recruiting visits distracted him. Maybe basketball season sidetracked him. Jim and Becky Ikard knew something had to be done, so they decided to talk with their youngest son as soon as he came home.
Read Gabe Ikard's bio
Watch Ikard's video interview with Jenni Carlson

Runner-up scholarship winners

Carl Albert: Zach Aylor

Updated: Sun, Jun 14, 2009 | Comment on this article

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Athletics: Won Class 5A state wrestling title at 189 pounds as a senior, earning first-team All-City honors. Will wrestle at Central Michigan.
Academics: Weighted grade point average of 4.2. Scored 27 on ACT. Student council officer.

Deer Creek: Dax Dilbeck

Updated: Sun, Jun 14, 2009 | Comment on this article

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Athletics: Honorable mention All-State and honorable mention Little All-City quarterback as a senior. Will play football at Oregon State.
Academics: Weighted grade point average of 4.2. Valedictorian. Scored 26 on the ACT

Tuttle: Sterling Koons

Updated: Sun, Jun 14, 2009 | Comment on this article

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Athletics: Honorable mention All-State and honorable mention Little All-City in football as a senior. Will play football at Air Force.
Academics: Grade point average of 4.2. Scored 30 on the ACT. National Honor Society. Oklahoma Honor Society.

Colon scholarship winner: Edmond Santa Fe's Constance Ezugha

Sports | Updated: Sun, Jun 14, 2009 | Comment on this article

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Constance Ezugha pushed herself through her afternoon workout earlier this spring, sweating and straining. On the other side of the track, Edmond Santa Fe High School coach James Edwards watched the team’s star. He stopped a freshman and pointed across the track at Ezugha. "She looks like she’s training for an Olympics,” the youngster said to Edwards, wide-eyed.
Read Constance Ezugha's bio
Watch Ezugha's video interview with Jenni Carlson

Cashion: Bailey Welch

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Athletics: First-team Class A All-State and first-team Little All-City in basketball as senior. Led team to 2007 state title.
Academics: Grade point average of 3.9. Scored 20 on ACT. Concurrent college enrollment. National Honor Society.

Edmond Memorial: Jill Enge

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Athletics: State swimming champion in 100 breaststroke as a senior. First-team All-City selection all four years of high school. Will swim at Evansville
Academics: Weighted grade point average of 4.1. March of Dimes Sports Headliner Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Westmoore: Katelin Cherry

Updated: Sun, Jun 14, 2009 | Comment on this article

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Athletics: Four-time first-team All-City selection and three-time state runner-up. Won three state championships in track and was first-team All-City for three years.
Academics: Grade point average of 4.0. Scored 31 on the ACT. Fellowship of Christian Athletes president.

View the School Representatives

Heritage Hall's Carissa Villaflor named top female high school scholar-athlete Updated: Fri, Jul 8, 2011 Carissa Villaflor gushed over one particular gift last Christmas. It was big. It was shiny. It was a dry-erase board. She immediately wanted her dad to put the massive white board on the wall in her bedroom. She put a big calendar on it to keep track of class projects, volleyball matches, student council... Read More

Scholar-athlete: David Glidden learned a lot from his classmate Updated: Fri, Jul 8, 2011 David Glidden remembers little about receiving his high school diploma. But graduation night is seared into his memory. That's because of a special-needs classmate he walked with across the stage. It was the exclamation mark on an experience that capped his senior year at Mustang High School and changed his... Read More

The Oklahoman's Scholar-Athlete awards: The best and the brightest Updated: Sat, Jul 9, 2011 You'll find no lockouts here. No scandals. No investigations. Today we celebrate the good side of sports. This is Scholar-Athlete Day, the annual celebration of high school seniors from the Oklahoma City area who best combine excellence in athletics and academics. The Oklahoman and the Jim Thorpe Association went... Read More

High schools: Oklahoma City area basketball tournaments postponed Updated: Thu, Jan 20, 2011 Many of the basketball tournaments scheduled to start Thursday in the Oklahoma City area have been postponed because of the winter storm. Most schools have the policy that if school is not in session, the athletic activities are postponed for that day. The tournaments have been moved to a Friday, Saturday and... Read More

2010 Scholar Athlete Winners Updated: Fri, Jun 11, 2010 Full list of winners for the 2010 Bob Colon scholar athlete winners. Read More

2010 Scholar Athlete Judges Updated: Fri, Jun 11, 2010 Read More

Ed Joullian, Casady Updated: Wed, Jul 15, 2009 Athletics: First-team all-conference golfer. Honorable mention all-conference soccer as junior when team won league title. Member of conference championship football team as sophomore. Academics: Scored 32 on the ACT. Grade point average of 3.7. Cum Laude Society. Student council. Weather Club vice president.... Read More

Ed Joullian, Casady High School Updated: Wed, Jul 15, 2009 Athletics: First-team all-conference golfer. Honorable mention all-conference soccer as junior when team won league title. Member of conference championship football team as sophomore. Academics: Scored 32 on the ACT. Grade point average of 3.7. Cum Laude Society. Student council. Weather Club vice president.... Read More

Cole Hooper, Heritage Hall Updated: Wed, Jun 24, 2009 Athletics: Honorable mention All-State and first-team Little All-City offensive lineman as a senior. Honorable mention Little All-City basketball as a sophomore. Also lettered in track. Will play football at Brown. Academics: Grade point average of 3.9. Scored 24 on the ACT. National Honor Society. Spanish Honor... Read More

Gabe Ikard, Bishop McGuinness Updated: Sun, Jun 14, 2009 Athletics: Four-year starter in football played on two state championship teams. All-State defensive lineman and Little All-City Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. Tight end also caught 24 passes for 507 yards and nine touchdowns. Will play football at Oklahoma. Four-year starter in basketball. Played on... Read More

Constance Ezugha, Edmond Santa Fe Updated: Sun, Jun 14, 2009 Athletics: State record holder in the long jump at 20-feet, 6 inches. Had the longest mark in the nation as a junior. Three-time state long jump champion. State champion in the 300-meter hurdles as a senior, the only year she ran the event. Four-time first-team Big All-City selection. Will compete in track and... Read More

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About the Bob Colon scholarships

The scholarships presented to the top scholar-athletes are named for The Oklahoman's late sports editor Bob Colon. With the help of the Jim Thorpe Association, he resurrected the newspaper's scholar-athlete awards in the 1990s and made them one of his annual pet projects until his death in 2005.

How it's done

The quest to honor the best scholar-athletes began last fall with a mailing to every high school in the Oklahoma City area. It ends today with the announcement of our 2009 Scholar-Athletes.

Who was eligible? Seniors who attend Oklahoma City-area high schools.

How were they nominated? By their schools. A school could nominate as many as three students, who completed a form detailing their athletic and academic achievements. A faculty letter of recommendation was also requested.

Is there a minimum grade point average or standardized test score required? No.

What was the formula for evaluation? Evaluations were based 60 percent on athletics, 40 percent on academics, and excellence was valued over mere participation. For example, a student who played only one sport but played it at a high level received higher consideration that one who played three sports but never started.

How were the school winners chosen? Three members of The Oklahoman's staff evaluated each school's nominations and determined a winner for each school.

How were the scholarship winners selected? A panel that included Oklahoman staff members evaluated the school winners, selecting the top 10 girls and the top 10 boys. Then, a 10-member panel ranked those girls and boys. Their rankings helped determine the overall winners and the runners-up.