The Al Watt Award is a cash award given in memory of Al Watt by his family. Al was a football player at SCCSD in the early 70’s and a coach for the school in the 90’s. This memorial award is given to a senior football player who played the game the way Al played the game. It is given to a player who shows a true love for the game and who gave 100% of his abilities to the game. This year’s recipient of the Al Watt Memorial Award is William Hunt, who, as football Coach Jason Marsh said, “worked hard both on and off the field. He was a true asset to the program who led by example. He dedicated himself to the weight room in the off-season. He was a selfless player, who made many sacrifices for the team.”

The Roger Crandall Warrior Pride Award honors Mr. Roger Crandall, a coach, physical education teacher and athletic director for over 20 years. This “Warrior Pride” Character and Courage Award is presented annually to a 2 or 3 sport male or female athlete who exhibit the highest degree of character and courage while competing in athletics. The 2012 Roger Crandall Award was given to Kameron Dry, a two sport athlete. He was a captain of the soccer team, and in track he was on the CCAA sportsmanship team and an All Star for 3 years. His reliability, leadership, courtesy, communication skills, ambition, and knowledge make him an excellent role model and the winner of the Roger Crandall Warrior Pride Award.

The Lou Foy Male Athlete of the Year Award is named after the late Lou Foy, who was a coach of many sports, the athletic director and teacher at SCCSD for many years. This year’s Male Athlete of the Year Award was presented to Ben Haas, a three sport athlete participating in football, wrestling and Lacrosse, who won this honor last year as a junior and is a two time Division II New York State Wrestling Champion, was named the Ilio DiPaulo Wrestling Scholarship winner for 2012, and is the Salutatorian for the Class of 2012.

The Anita Oyler Female Athlete of the Year Award is given in honor of Anita Oyler, who was a physical education teacher, one of the first girls’ coaches, and an overall pioneer of girls’ sports at Salamanca school. This year’s recipient was Tess Follman, a three sport athlete who was a valuable member of the varsity girls’ soccer, basketball and track and field teams. Her accolades this year include: CCAA Division 2 Soccer offensive player of the year; Section 6 leading soccer scorer with 35 goals and 16 assists; as a member of the Section VI Class C Champion varsity basketball team she was offensive player of the year and CCAA Division 2 Second team all star; and three time CCAA Division 2 All-star in Track and Field.

The Harry Nelson Award is given annually to a senior baseball player who demonstrates a true love for the game and dedication to the craft and team. The award is in honor of Harry Nelson who played three years of varsity baseball here at Salamanca and later coached and officiated baseball at many levels. This year’s recipient is Ron Smith. Ron has been on the varsity baseball team for three years where he has played nearly every position. Last year he was awarded second team all league and this year he won the sportsmanship award for the league. According to Coach Clint DePew, “Ron has always been more than just a player, he is a leader with a great mind on and off the field.”

NYS Scholar Athlete Team Awards are given to those teams that have an overall combined academic average of 90 percent of better. These students perform well both on the field and in the classroom. Eight Salamanca teams achieved this distinction in the 2011-2012 school year: the Girls’ Varsity Tennis Team with a 92.786 average; Girls’ Swim Team with a 91.455 average; the Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team with an average of 91.045; the Boys’ Varsity Soccer Team with a 90.960 average; the Boys’ Varsity Football team with a 90.414 average; the Girls’ Track and Field Team with a 90.52 average, the Boys’ Track and Field Team with a 90.61 average, and the Boys’ Varsity Baseball Team with a 90.96 average.

NYS individual Scholar Athlete Awards were received by Ben Haas and Ron Smith. Ben Haas also received the Channel 4 Scholar Athlete Award.