After a year of hard work, commitment and teamwork, the Archer Athletics community came together to celebrate the program’s achievements. 

On May 17, Archer athletes, coaches and families gathered at the Olympic Collection for the Archer Sports Awards Banquet.

Archer’s a cappella group, the Unaccompanied Minors, performed at the event along with DJ Richie Rich.

The banquet highlighted the seasons of each high school sports teams. One by one, coaches from each team presented the Panther, Most Valuable Player and Most Improved awards to exemplary athletes in each sport.

“It feels amazing and I feel very honored to have received the award,” Morgan Dennis ’19, who was awarded the Most Valuable Player for varsity softball, said. “It makes me feel like I am impacting my team, and I love them and softball so much.”

After each sport presented, four major awards were given: Athlete of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Champion of Character. Each athlete was nominated by her coaches and voted on by a panel of Archer coaches.

Three-sport athlete Rachel Pike ’17 was awarded Athlete of the Year for her pivotal role in Archer Athletics.

Freshman Hailey Adams was awarded the Rookie Athlete of the Year Award, an award given to a multi-sport athlete and crucial member of the Archer athletic program.

Liadan Solomon ’17 won Scholar Athlete of the Year for her critical membership to sports while also achieving high marks in the classroom. 

“It was absolutely amazing. It was such a perfect way to end my career as an Archer athlete and the fact that Mr. London gave my speech made it even more special,” Solomon wrote in an email. “His words of admiration about my character and integrity as a student warmed my heart and brought tears to my eyes. I couldn’t possibly feel more blessed, lucky and proud.”

Alyssa Downer ’17 won Champion of Character because of her consistent demonstration through dedication and teamwork, as well as serving as an great example of the Archer Athletic program.

“I was honored to receive the Champion of Character award. It was completely unexpected, and I couldn’t be more appreciative,” Downer wrote in an email. “I’ve dedicated so much time to Archer Athletics, and I feel like they’ve taught me not only how to be a better athlete, but also a person. I definitely owe the credit to [Archer].”

Archer Athletic director Denny Lennon described the importance of the event to the community.

“I think it is great to recognize all of our athletes and seasons that they had, ” Lennon said. “Sometimes some of the fall or winter season are forgotten by this time of year, so it is great to remember what they did.”