CHAPEL HILL—Almost 19,000 individual awards have been given by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association to student-athletes for their achievements in the classroom as well as on the playing court or athletic field.
                  The NCHSAA made the awards in its Scholar-Athlete program presented by the North Carolina National Guard, which includes recognition of varsity teams which attain certain grades as well as individual athletes.
                  Individual Scholar-Athletes attained at least a 3.5 grade point average for the semester in which he or she competed.  The award is based on first semester grades for fall and winter sports and second semester grades for spring sports, and the school submits the nomination form verifying the grade point average on behalf of the athlete or team. 
For the fall semester of 2013, a total of 8,494 student-athletes were nominated by NCHSAA member schools and qualified for this award.
                  In the team division, a varsity team earns Scholar-Athlete recognition by attaining a 3.1 aggregate GPA on a straight 4.0 scale for that designated semester.  The school receives a certificate from the NCHSAA honoring the accomplishment and each member of the squad receives a certificate. A total of 714 varsity teams and 10,271 individual athletes from across the state achieved this distinction.
                  A minimum of five individuals is necessary to constitute a team, and all team members must be included in figuring the team GPA.  The team achieving the highest grade point average in the state in its particular sport and submitting its application by the appropriate deadline receives a plaque commemorating that achievement.                 
                  Weddington, Wilson Hunt and Burlington Williams each had two team winners.
                  "We are extremely proud of the achievements of the students involved in our Scholar-Athlete program and are grateful to the North Carolina National Guard for its involvement," said Davis Whitfield, NCHSAA commissioner.  "This demonstrates that we have a large number of athletes that are playing sports and also succeeding in the classroom."
 
NCHSAA SCHOLAR-ATHLETE TEAM AWARD WINNERS
Fall and Winter Sports (Fall Semester 2013)
 
Basketball, Men                                  Cardinal Gibbons                          3.584
Basketball, Women                             North Henderson                           3.813
Cheerleading                                      Wilkes Central                               3.706
Cross Country, Men                            South Point                                    3.596
Cross Country, Women                       Smoky Mountain                            3.861
Football                                              Weddington                                   3.357
Soccer, Men                                        Weddington                                   3.605
Golf, Women                                       Salisbury                                        3.800
Indoor Track, Men                               Williams, Walter                             3.531
Tennis, Women                                   Williams, Walter                             3.783
Indoor Track, Women                          West Wilkes                                   3.780
Swimming and Diving, Men                  Hunt                                             3.634
Swimming and Diving, Women             Hunt                                             3.770
Volleyball                                             Asheboro                                     3.795
Wrestling                                              NC School of Science & Math        3.504