KU’s Scholar Athlete

It took a while for senior Ben Young to focus exclusively on cross country, and the Tates Creek High team is glad he did.

At 6-foot-3, 285 pounds, senior center Sullivan Simpson of Henry Clay High is everything you’d want in a scholar athlete.

He has a 4.6 weighted GPA, is a member of the National Honor Society, is an active member of Young Life ministry, has the respect of his teammates and… he’s fierce.

You can’t escape saying it – when it comes to school and sports, Lafayette High junior Caleb Joy goes the extra mile.

This month marks the 17th year that Kentucky Utilities has sponsored Lexington Family Magazine’s popular Scholar Athlete feature, which has honored more than 200 young people.

Good thing Sayre School’s Nicholas Waltman is a runner or he might have missed his flight after his visit to M.I.T., where he will attend in the fall.

So how did Nathan Gillespie evolve from a ballet dancer and trumpet player at SCAPA to a hard-hitting football player, an all-star tennis player and a cadet-to-be at the Air Force Academy?

Nine Scholar Athletes for 2013-14 were honored in May at an awards banquet at Kentucky Utilities, sponsor of the Scholar Athlete feature.

It may seem that Sayre School senior Justin Sanders is too good to be true, but there he stands – 6-foot-2, 170 pounds. At 18, the epitome of the Renaissance Man.

High school soccer fans probably already know that Mallory Eubanks of Tates Creek High is the state’s top player.

The first of 200 times that the parents of a Scholar Athlete opened their doors and welcomed me into their home to meet and interview their impressive child was 17 years ago – August 1997 – and the Scholar Athlete was worth remembering.