Nate Virtue and Marissa Kurtz were named the Booster Club Boy and Girl of the Year in Sweet Home High School athletics Sunday evening at the annual senior sports banquet held at the Sweet Home Elks Lodge.
They also were named to the Huskies Hall of Fame. Joining them in the Hall of Fame were Sarah Hewitt and Colton Smith.
Kurtz played volleyball for four years, lettering once.
She wrestled and lettered four years, winning first-team all-state honors in 2016 and 2018 and second-team all-state in 2017. She was Most Improved on her team in 2016.
She lettered all four years of softball and was named first-team all-league outfielder and honorable mention all-state outfielder this year.
She plans to attend and wrestle at Southern Oregon University.
Virtue played football for four years, lettering three times. He received the Offensive-Defensive MVP Award in 2018. He was second-team all-league receiver-linebacker in 2017, 2018 Oregon West Defensive Player of the Year, first-team all-league receiver-linebacker in 2018, honorable mention all-state receiver in 2018 and first-team all-state linebacker in 2018. He will play in the East-West Shrine Game this summer.
He played basketball for four years, lettering three times. He was Defensive MVP in 2018 and 2019.
He played baseball for four years, lettering three times and winning the Big Stick Award in 2018, first-team all-league infielder in 2018 and 2019 and third-team all-state in 2019. He will play in the North-South All-Star Series this summer.
He plans to enter an electrical apprenticeship following graduation.
Hewitt played soccer one year, winning Most Improved on her team.
She lettered four years in swimming. She was first-team all-state in academics and an all-state swimmer all four years. She was a member of the state championship team in 2016, 2017 and 2019.
She plans to attend the University of California, Berkely and study civil engineering.
Smith is a four-year letterman in football, winning second-team all-league honors in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
He lettered three out of four years in basketball, winning honorable mention all-league in 2018.
He played four years of baseball, lettering three times. He was first-team all-league in 2017, 2018 and 2019, Oregon West Player of the Year and second-team all-state in 2019. He will play in the North-South All-Star Series this summer.
He plans to attend Southwestern Oregon Community College and Oregon State University, playing baseball and studying forest management.
The Coaches Award went to athletes who were key components in making their teams better, the kind of athletes coaches talk about among themselves, said wrestling Coach Steve Thorpe. They were Noah Dinsfriend, Sunhee Bitter, Kate Hawken, Boe Baxter and Jake Swanson.
The Spirit of a Champion Award, presented by softball Coach Karyn Hartsook to students who overcame adversity in life or in sports, went to Hailey Wolfe, Sydney Mauer, Hayden Nichol, Robert Watkins and Aliya Boss.
The Larry Johnson/Bruce West Sportsmanship Award, presented by Don Knight, went to Sunhee Bitter, Lance Hansen, Noah Moore and Kennedi Waldrop.
The Moe Award, presented by Amber and Tomas Rosa, cheer and wrestling coaches, to athletes who show humility and courage, putting others first and encouraging others, went to Nicole Grady and Hayden Nichol.
The John Seward Memorial Scholarship, presented by Bruce Davis, went to Sarah Hewitt.
The Norm Davis Memorial Scholarship, presented by Davis, went to Marissa Kurtz and Boe Baxter.
The Greg Hagle Memorial Scholarship, presented by Jim Hagle, went to Austin Olin, Colton Smith and Jake Swanson.
The Pat Baxter Memorial Scholarship, presented by Thorpe, went to Boe Baxter.
Receiving the U.S. Marine Corps Distinguished Athlete Award were Madelyn Neuschwander and Robbie Yunke.
Husky Award winners, athletes who played three sports all four years of high school, are Madelyn Neuschwander, Noah Dinsfriend, Marissa Kurtz, Noah Moore, Robbie Yunke, Lance Hansen, Parker Lemmer, Colton Smith, Jake Swanson, Nate Virtue and Hayden Nichol.
OSAA Scholar Athletes were Boe Baxter, Sunhee Bitter, Aliya Boss, Anna Coleman, Noah Dinsfriend, Ashley Farthing, Nicole Grady, Lance Hansen, Kate Hawken, Sarah Hewitt, Rimi Kanaya, Terron Kopperud, Marissa Kurtz, Sydney Mauer, Hayden McDonald, Madelyn Neuschwander, Austin Olin, Zerin Owen, Ella Parker, Katrina Reynolds, Colton Smith, Jake Swanson, Nathan Virtue, Kennedi Waldrop, Evan Davis, John Lynn and Bradley Wolthuis.
Jared Cornell was the guest speaker. Cornell graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in Public Health and Health Care Administration in 2001. He earned a master’s degree in education there in 2003 and a master’s of business administration. He is a 1996 graduate of The Dalles High School.
He was a three-time all-state football player and two-time all-American offensive lineman. He attended OSU on a football scholarship, winning All-Pac-10 honors as an offensive lineman. His team was the Fiesta Bowl champion, and he was team captain in 2000-01.
Based on his experiences, he told the graduating seniors to always show up and be on time, to be prepared and to work hard.
“Life doesn’t get any easier at this point,” Cornell said. “There is no replacement for hard work.”
All of the successes they may see on social media, “you’re looking at everybody’s best moments in life,” he said. Among those, the ones “who aren’t lying to you,” hard work is underlying every success. He called it “success’s little brother.”
He urged them to display integrity and character: “Do what you say and mean what you do, especially when no one is looking.”
Athletes carry their name on their jerseys, he said, but now that they’re graduating, that name still means something.
“Live your life like your name is still there, representing you and your (community),” Cornell said.
He told them to be coachable and accept constructive criticism while being their own worst critics. Rather than making excuses, they need to pick themselves up and learn from their mistakes.
“The more you put into something, the more you get out of it,” Cornell said, urging the athletes to give everything into whatever it is they do, helping them succeed and live with no regrets.
Finally, he told them, “Have fun!”
Digging a ditch, he said, sing a song.
“Life is a sport,” Cornell said. “If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong.”