Every week, we bring you four student athletes that have been nominated by their school's athletic director, coach, or you the fans! We will write a brief description as to why they are deserving of the award and the rest is up to the fans to vote for the Scholar of the Week. After the votes are tallied, we will announce a winner on Friday. At the end of the regular season a new poll will take place.
Each of the weekly winners will be released via a poll for the Ivy Tech Community College Student Athlete of the Year. Fans will vote throughout the IHSAA playoffs with the winner being recognized during the last Colts home game at Lucas Oil Stadium and being awarded a scholarship to Ivy Tech Community College.
Last week, Hamilton Southeastern's Ryan Ripp totaled 89% of the votes to be named the sixth Ivy Tech Scholar Athlete of the Week. This two-way starter has been the heart and soul of the Royals this season. Off the field, Ripp is a "high honor roll" scholar athlete with a 3.83 GPA. His stats on the field are impressive but his most impressive statistical measurement could be the 1740 he scored on the SAT. In 2011, Ripp had 1,174 yards and 19 touchdowns. This season through six games, Ripp has 759 yards and 15 touchdowns while sharing carries with a few other players. He has been voted to the All-HCC team the past two years which is no easy feat.
Here are the seventh week's nominees and a little bit about them:
*Andrew Kittridge /Valparaiso High School/RB – Being a leader on and off the field has never been an issue for Andrew. Off the field, he is a member of the National Society of High School Scholars, has a 3.64 GPA, and is ranked 133 out of 547 students. He is also active in his local church and participated in the IHSAA Student Leadership Conference. On the field, he is a three year starter for the Vikings, and has become their feature back. He scored 12 touchdowns as a sophomore and then came back and did the same as a junior. Through seven games of the 2012 season, Kittridge has nine touchdowns. *
Joseph Sweeney/Cardinal Ritter High School/Defensive Lineman - Currently ranked second in his class with a GPA of 4.574, scored a perfect 800 on the Math portion of the SAT and perfect 36 on the Math portion of the ACT. He has received numerous academic awards. At Cardinal Ritter, is Vice-President of the National Honor Society, a member of the 2011 Championship Brain Game team and 2012 Runner-up Brain Game team. Also a member of the White River Academic League team and Academic Super Bowl. Participates in Service Learning, Campus Ministry and as a Student Ambassador. Is a nine year 4-H member and was named Outstanding 4H-er in Wayne Township in 2010. Won state and national awards in the Electric project. Participated in Youth Leadership Hendricks County during his sophomore year. Offensive and Defensive Lineman for the Raiders. Started both ways in 2011. Named Scholar Athlete for 2011 season, and academic All Indiana Crossroads Conference. Also, Scholar Athlete and Academic All Conference for Track and Field team in 2012.
Gavyn Gerbofsky/Franklin Central High School/TE-DL – Gavyn is quite the scholar-athlete. He is a member of the Hoosier Boys State Delegate and the National Honor Society. He received the academic excellence letter in as a sophomore and a junior. He is in the top 1% of his graduating class with a 4.0+ career GPA. He also is active in his local church. On the field he is a three year varsity starter for the Flashes. He is a senior captain this year as well as a senior council member of the team. He starts both ways and has earned three varsity letters his freshman, sophomore, and junior years.
Mitch Giles/ Castle High School/QB- Mitch is one of the top signal callers in the state and excels in the classroom as well. The person who nominated him, said that Giles is "an all-around good person. He is always putting others first." He has a 3.5 GPA and is ranked 105 out of 452 students at Castle. On the field, he lights it up. Giles led the Knights to an undefeated 2011 regular season before falling to Bedford North Lawrence in the Sectional finals. During the run, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound signal caller complete 170-of-267 passes (64% completion percentage) for 3,099 yards and 33 touchdowns as the Knights improved from 6-7 in 2010 to 11-1 in 2011.
Check back next week to see who won this week's Ivy Tech Community College's Scholar Athlete of the Week Program. Also, be sure to be as descriptive as possible when nominating a player.
