Twenty-five Jamestown High School students were eligible for All-
Western New York Scholar Athlete recognition for the fall athletic season after having a grade-point average of 90% or higher.

Twenty-five Jamestown High School students were named All-Western New York Scholar Athletes winners and honorable mentions for the fall athletic season by Section VI.

Eligible students are seniors involved in a fall sport who had a cumulative grade-point average of 90% or higher.

Jamestown Schools Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker said it’s great to have so many students achieve this, “It is challenging, A, to be a teenager in these times; B, to have navigated through the COVID fiasco that we’ve been through the course of the past two years and make a return to school; C, to do all of the outside things that a lot of kids have to do today like jobs and taking care of younger kids; D, to get good grades in school and then also on top of all of that be an outstanding athlete on a varsity team.”

Board President Paul Abbott also recognized the students named as scholar athletes, including the two ex-officio student representatives on the board, Emylia Hallberg and Aubrey Reynolds.

JHS students recognized for their excellence in the classroom were Aric Bloomquist, football; Trey Drake, football; Kylie O’Brien, volleyball; Jacob Smeraldo, boys cross country; and Lindsey Spitz, girls swim team.

Students who received honorable mention recognition included: Brittney Beardsley, girls tennis; Michael Boron, football; Jordan Braymiller, boys soccer; Rylen Coombs, girls volleyball; Emylia Hallberg, girls volleyball; Mercedes Johnson, girls tennis; Quinn Johnson, girls soccer; Kollon Knisley, boys soccer; Brandon Lobb, football; Hannah Lutgen, girls cross country; Colin Melendez, football; Alex Melquist, girls volleyball; Karynne Mims, girls soccer; Aubrey Reynolds, girls volleyball; Celeste Roberts, girls tennis; Kylee Schrader, girls tennis; Evan Sharpe, boys soccer; Julia Smith, girls soccer; John Torres, football; and Kylee Williamson, girls volleyball.

Additionally, seven JHS athletic programs — football, boys and girls Soccer, boys and girls cross country, girls volleyball, and girls tennis — were named New York State Scholar-Athlete teams. Programs are eligible if the cumulative team GPA is 90% or higher during the season.

Athletic Director Ben Drake makes presentation on scholar athletes to School Board

Scholar athletes and the Jamestown High School Football team were recognized for their efforts at the Jamestown School Board meeting Tuesday night.

Athletic Director Ben Drake said studies have shown that inter-scholastic athletics improve graduation rates, school attendance, decrease discipline issues, and there’s a correlation with improvement with grade point averages. He said this was the first year they can remember where every one of the high school’s varsity teams were named scholar athlete teams, “During the first ten weeks of the school year, take the top 75% of every roster and if it comes out to a 90% or better, you’re named a scholar athlete team. And we always have a few teams but this is the first year that we could remember that every team in the season was a scholar athlete team, so that over 75% of our varsity athletes this year had a 90% or higher GPA in the Fall.”

Drake said 18 students were named All Western New York Scholar Athletes, “And in order to do that, you have to be a senior and you have to have a cumulative GPA of 90% or higher from your first six semesters in high school. And so 18 of them is a lot. We always have a handful. Some seasons we’ll have more than others but 18 is quite a few so I just want to recognize them.”

The Jamestown High School Football team was recognized for their accomplishments this season and the players offered their thanks to the school board for all of their support for the team.

Jamestown High School Individual Fall All-WNY Scholar-athletes:

Cecelia Eklum (girls tennis) – winner

Rylie Loomis (girls volleyball) – winner

Nick Miraglia (football) – winner

Jaymin Morano (boys cross country) – winner

Ben Anderson (football) – honorable mention

Madison Arthurs (girls tennis) – honorable mention

Skyela Banse-Fay (girls soccer) – honorable mention

Mia Brown (girls tennis) – honorable mention

Colton Cappalino (boys cross country) – honorable mention

Nicole Carlson (girls volleyball) – honorable mention

Regan Coombs (girls volleyball) – honorable mention

Hannah Grey (girls volleyball) – honorable mention

Rena Huntington (girls tennis) – honorable mention

Cadance Main (girls volleyball) – honorable mention

Nicole McGrath (girls tennis) – honorable mention

Natalie Reinhardt (girls swimming) – honorable mention

Haileigh Rhodes (girls soccer) – honorable mention

Annika Spitzer (girls tennis) – honorable mention