Bennett, Julian capture athlete of the year honors

Vindicator staff report

BOARDMAN — Phil Bennett and Cara Julian performed well on the basketball court this winter.

They performed even better off the court.

Bennett, a senior at Salem, and Julian, a senior at Hubbard, were named the Student Athletes of the Year at the Curbstone Coaches’ winter banquet Sunday at The Georgetown.

They each earned a trophy and a $1,000 scholarship.

Bennett, who plans to major in business at Penn State, earned first team All-American Conference White Tier honors for the Quakers, but it was his excellence in the classroom (he holds a 4.1 grade point average) and his willingness to volunteer at church and charity events, in addition to his work at a local dairy farm, that impressed the judges.

“This is definitely the biggest honor I’ve ever received,” said Bennett.

“I feel like all the hard work outside of basketball really paid off.”

Julian, also a first team All-AAC selection, has a 4.0 GPA and volunteers at her church and as a tutor. She plans to major in speech therapy at Ohio State.

“I had no idea this was coming,” she said. “It’s a huge honor. I feel so blessed and so lucky.”

Other boys finalists were Lakeview’s Robert Franks, Beaver Local’s Shawn Mercer, McDonald’s Lance Ronghi and Lowellville’s Anthony Schiraldi. Girls finalists were Howland’s Kelly Barzak, LaBrae’s Baylee Boggs, Crestview’s Chelsea Bowker, Liberty’s Melissa Dykes and Leetonia’s Gina Jones.

Winners were selected by a panel of local media members. Finalists needed at least a 2.5 GPA and to be a first team all-league selection. They were also judged on outside activities and needed a nomination form signed by the school principal, athletic director and coach as well as three letters of recommendations from teachers.