Local student athletes earn Academic All-State honors for fall sports season

Sydney Murdock
San Juan High School
Girls Tennis

Head Coach Ciarra Walker: “Sydney is an outstanding student and person. She dedicates much of her time and effort to improving herself through academics, her personal life, and finding professional opportunities to prepare herself for a career.
“She is a supportive friend and cheers on others in their activities and endeavors. Sydney is very involved in several aspects of the school community such as homecoming events, pep band, sports, drama, clubs, and more. You can usually find her volunteering around the community and school.
“On the tennis court Sydney worked hard to improve, learned new skills, and was upbeat and positive in her matches. Her opponents and their coaches often told me how much they enjoyed playing against her because she was kind and showed great sportsmanship.
“It was a joy to be her coach and to see her advance over the last four years. She will go on to do wonderful things beyond high school and I know she can succeed in anything she puts her mind to.”

Macee Palmer
San Juan High School
Girls Soccer

Head Coach Courtney Hurst: “We have a theme on our soccer team about making a difference. At the end of our season it was a unanimous vote that Macee received the M.A.D. (Make a Difference) Award.
“Macee really made ALL the difference on our team this year. She is someone who all the girls look up to. Her magnetic personality helps those around her want to be better. You can’t help but smile when you are with her. She is a leader on and off the field.
“Macee strives for high performance in whatever activity she is pursuing, whether that is academic, athletic, or community involvement.
“Macee has been involved with the community youth council to help better the town of Blanding among many other extracurricular activities and she excels in all of them.
“Macee is a great human being and really there aren’t enough good things to say about her. She is excellent.”

Ayla Carling
Monticello High School
Cross Country

Head Coach Jeff Hunt: “Ayla has been the quiet team leader for three years now.  When you need something to get done not only with the team but at school as well, you can always count on her.
“We often refer to her as the team mom because she always kept us in line, both teams. She always seems to run in the shadows so it becomes even more important to do her job on the team to not only score well, but increase other teams’ scores as well.
“That is what we could count on Ayla to do time and time again – to do her job. In the modern world that is one of the greatest compliments I could give her is that she does her job without always getting the accolades others receive.
“Another strong trait Ayla has is that she can inspire others. Her goal for the future is to be a teacher. I will bet she will be a great one.”

Marah Long
Monticello High School
Cross Country

Head Coach Jeff Hunt: “I have said this so many times, but I will say it again about Marah. If determination translated directly into money, she is going to be one of the richest people in the world someday.
“This applies not only on the cross country course but at school as well. Just like when she was a precocious two year old and candy was anywhere in sight, it would find its way into Marah’s hands.
“This season, we didn’t see the same Marah we had seen in years past until the very end. In life it’s okay to get the yips a little as sometimes life gets in the way of your goals.
“But in the end when it counted, Marah showed up and did what she needed to do to lead the team to a silver trophy and finish in the top three at state for the second time. It was her third time medaling at state.”

Aaron Gillette
Monticello High School
Cross Country

Head Coach Jeff Hunt: “A few years ago, I received a message from Aaron telling me his dad had passed away. In that act alone Aaron told me so much about his character as a young man.
“To have the courage to be the one to give that message to others at such a young age is something I don’t think I could have done.
“Since then I have seen him only grow as an athlete and a person. Last track season I saw him time and time again make a goal and reach it.
“He constantly punches above his weight and it shows in his team leadership. No one was more respected by his teammates and his classmates than Aaron.
“This season he struggled a bit as he wasn’t meeting the goals he had set for himself.
“That changed at the region meet as he led the team, taking second overall and running an overall personal record.
“Once again, he raised the bar not only for himself, but for the rest of the team as well.”