Student Athletes
Photo Credit: Dominic Roberts
Dominic Roberts, Junior Reporter
February 10, 2012
Filed under Sports
Angela Tharpe and Michael Hutcherson show their strength as student athletes for Madison.
Area student athletes are annually awarded the Athlete of the Year award. This award is presented to athletes who demonstrate hard work, sportsmanship, character, and dedication. Nominees are selected by a panel representing each school, and winners from every school will go on to be recognized in the Jackson Madison County Hall of Fame. This year’s winners from Madison Academic are seniors Michael Hutcherson and Angela Tharpe.
Angela Tharpe is a 4-year member of the cross country, track, and basketball teams. “I was really excited when I won the award because there are a lot of good athletes at our school so it was a big honor that out of all of them, they chose me,” said Tharpe. Tharpe admits that she no longer takes her sports for granted, knowing that her high school career will soon come to an end. She has also begun to pray before every competition and says that it helps get her through the rough times of the competition. Angela plans to walk onto the track team at Baylor University with confidence that she will qualify for the team.
Michael Hucherson is a 4-year active member of the golf team. “I felt honored to hold the title because it is a prestigious award that only one male and female receives,” said Hutcherson. He acknowledges the highs and lows of his high school career. “Some highs were when we won district, regionals, in which I was a gold medalist, and the state competition.” If Hutcherson could change anything about his high school career, he would have worked harder to make it to the state championship his junior year because he would’ve been the first player in Madison’s history to go to the championship all four years. Hutcherson plans to attend Bethel University on a golf scholarship and major in Business Administration. He will continue to live by Philippians 3:13 which says, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”
The faculty, staff, and students at Madison Academic High School are extremely proud of these young scholar-athletes and wish them the best of luck in the future.
