High School Student-Athletes Honored

Midway, Ky. -At a ceremony held yesterday on Midway University’s campus, 27 high school student-athletes were honored and recognized this year for their achievements in their individual sports. The Midway University/KHSAA Student-Athlete of the Year awards are announced throughout the year during the regionals or state tournaments for each individual sport. Students are then invited to campus each June to receive their awards and an overall male and female student-athlete of the year is announced.

“We are honored to recognize these student-athletes throughout the year,” said Dr. John P. Marsden, President, Midway University. “We created this program in 2016 to parallel what we as an institution value – academic achievement, athletic accomplishments, and community service.”

Nominations are made throughout the year by high school coaches, counselors or principals, and a judging panel vote on the winners of each sport. At the end of the year, those individual sport winners are once again reviewed by the judges to select the overall female and male winners. This year’s overall winners were Claire Lehmkuhler, a softball player from Woodford County High School and Jackson Smallwood, a track and field athlete from Grant County.

About the Overall Student-Athletes of the Year

Claire Lehmkuhler, a 2021 graduate of Woodford County High, has received all-stat

e, all-region, and all-district honors. She was named the MaxPreps/NFCA High School Player of the Week earlier this season. Most notably, she was the first player in KHSAA history to have hit a home run while batting from both sides of the plate. She holds a perfect GPA and has committed to Bellarmine to continue her athletic and academic careers. Her noted volunteering includes work with the elderly, babysitting, Girls United, and helping with the Thanksgiving Food Drive.

Jackson Smallwood, a 2021 graduate of Grant County High School has multiple athletic accomplishments – including the most recent 3A Region 5 track meet where he won the shot put breaking his own school record and the 3A Region 5 meet record. Jackson holds a near-perfect GPA, and he was named the 32nd District Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Jackson’s volunteering includes time with multiple organizations as well as his church, Sherman Baptist, where he has taken Mission Trips to Guatemala and Honduras.

All Individual Student-Athletes of the Year by Sport