Cherokee County School District student athletes have been honored by Positive Athlete Georgia, with 11 regional winners, two state winners and two state scholarship winners!
The 2022 Positive Athlete Georgia Awards are presented by the Positive Athlete Georgia organization, which promotes the benefits of positivity to young athletes around the world. Football star player Hines Ward formed Positive Athlete with businessman Scott Pederson.
More than 3,000 high school students are nominated annually as the “most positive” athlete among their peers by coaches, principals, athletic directors, teachers and parents. Awards are presented for each sport at the regional level, with region winners advancing to state-level competition.
In addition to demonstrating excellence in their sport, Positive Athletes must show these characteristics: optimistic attitude, teammate encouragement, servant leadership, heart for others, ability to admit imperfections, giving 100 percent all the time, and realizing the team as more important than the individual.
Two CCSD students are the overall state winners in their sport: Creekview High School senior Ashley Tippens for Softball and River Ridge High School senior Tressie Polk for Girls Swim & Dive. They will be recognized at the Georgia Positive Athlete Awards ceremony in June.
Two CCSD students earned $1,000 Positive Athlete Georgia regional scholarships sponsored by businesses and organizations. Ashley won the WellStar Wellness Ambassador Award, and Cherokee High School junior Juliana Brown, the regional winner for Flag Football, earned the Cobb EMC Positive Energy Award. The organization additionally will announce state-level scholarship winners in June.
Tressie was recognized earlier this year by the organization for her dedication to supporting children undergoing cancer treatment, and earned a $1,000 shopping spree from Academy Sports + Outdoors to buy hats for them.
“How well our student athletes perform in competition is important, but even more important is their character. These students are champions at both,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower said. “Congratulations to them and their families, and thank you to our outstanding coaches who guide them to be positive athletes.”
The state and regional winners will be recognized by the Cherokee County School Board and Dr. Hightower at this month’s School Board meeting.
Congratulations to CCSD’s 2022 Positive Athlete Georgia Regional Award Winners:
CHEROKEE HS
Juliana Brown - Flag Football
Reid Schmidt - Boys Track & Field
CREEKVIEW HS
Caden Cherry - Boys Soccer
Ashley Tippens – Softball (also State winner)
ETOWAH HS
Josh Hughes - Boys Basketball
RIVER RIDGE HS
Wiley Goins - Boys Alternative
Tressie Polk - Girls Swim & Dive (also State winner)
SEQUOYAH HS
Luke Dodd - Boys Tennis
Avery Frankle - Boys Lacrosse
WOODSTOCK HS
Connor MacMillan - Boys Golf
Reece Morrish - Girls Lacrosse
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