Former pro players to speak, $1,500 scholarships will be awarded during annual sports banquet

Longtime NFL quarterback, assistant coach and head coach Jim Zorn will be the keynote speaker during the annual Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman/Mat-Su Sea Hawkers Student-Athlete of the Year awards banquet Sunday, May 4 at Evangelo’s in Wasilla.

Zorn, a Seattle Seahawks legend, is appearing, thanks in part to the Mat-Su Sea Hawkers booster club and Alaska Airlines.

Former Denver Broncos standout offensive lineman Chris Kuper, a Dimond High School graduate, will also speak during the event on a broadcast live from Minnesota, where he is currently an assistant coach for the Minnesota Vikings.

Tickets are available for purchase at frontiersman.com/events/.

The Frontiersman recently announced the finalists for the annual award: Colony seniors Hallie Clark and Coby Marvin, Houston seniors Ashlyn McRoberts and Terje McClurg, Mat-Su Career Tech seniors Sarah Callender and Grayson McDowell, Mat-Su Central seniors Noelle Buck and Kinan Greco, Palmer seniors Brooke Hronkin and Kaden Henry, Redington senior Christian Ingraham, and Wasilla seniors Mylee Anderson and Stephen Hafen.

The student-athletes of the year, one senior boy and one senior girl, will be announced during the banquet. Each winner will receive a $1,500 scholarship courtesy of the Mat-Su Sea Hawkers.

The award was created to recognize students who excel in athletics and academics. Local high schools nominate students based on criteria set by the Frontiersman, including a minimum grade point average and the participation in extracurricular activities.

The Frontiersman and the Sea Hawkers’ partnership spans more than a decade. Zorn has also been a partner of the Sea Hawkers and the Mat-Su group’s charitable efforts.

Zorn was the first starting quarterback in Seattle Seahawks franchise history, and was named the AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year following the team’s inaugural season in 1976. Zorn was a starter with the Seahawks until 1984. He also played for Green Bay and Tampa Bay. He was the second player in franchise history to be named to the Seattle Ring of Honor.

Zorn also served as head coach of the NFL’s Washington Redskins in 2008 and 2009. His career also included time as an assistant coach with Seattle, Detroit, Baltimore and Kansas City. Zorn also spent time coaching in college and the XFL.

Kuper spent his entire NFL playing career, 2006-2013, playing on the offensive line for the Denver Broncos. He helped the Dimond Lynx win a state football championship in 2001, and played Division I football at North Dakota. The Broncos drafted Kuper in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersman.com.