Winners of 2017 Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman/Mat-Su Seahawkers Student-Athlete of the Year awards to be revealed Wednesday

WASILLA — The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman will reveal its Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman/Mat-Su Seahawkers Student-Athletes of the Year in the Wednesday edition of the Frontiersman. The Mat-Su Miners will host a check presentation for the winners prior to their game against the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks Thursday night at Hermon Brothers Field.

With a donation from the Mat-Su Seahawkers — the local chapter of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks booster club that has a mission to support local youth and high school sports — each winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship to assist with their postsecondary education. Administrators at Colony, Houston, Palmer and Wasilla nominate a pair of student-athletes — one senior boy and one senior girl — based on a criteria set by the Frontiersman, which includes a minimum 3.3 grade point average and emphasis on participation in multiple athletic and academic extracurricular activities.

“The idea is to recognize and reward those who excel not only on the field, court, track or ice, but also the classroom,” Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz, creator of the award, said.

The 2017 nominees are: Colony High graduates Coleen Geraghty and Tracen Knopp; Houston High graduates Dana McDonald and Isaac Smoldon; Palmer High graduates Madeline Ko and Josiah Alverts; and Wasilla High graduates Lindsey Cizek and Harris Fife.

Geraghty graduated second in her class with a 4.478 grade point average, and competed in both cross-country running and track and field. Knopp was a region champion in cross-country skiing, region runner-up in cross-country running and held a 3.8 GPA.

McDonald had a 3.8 GPA, and was a member of the cross-country running, cheerleading and softball teams. Smoldon was Houston’s class of 2017 valedictorian with a 4.038 GPA, was the captain of the hockey team, and competed in cross-country running and baseball.

Ko was Palmer High’s class valedictorian with a 4.24 GPA, and won state titles in NYO and track and field. Alverts was a region champion in cross-country skiing and held a 4.146 GPA.

Cizek had a 3.846 GPA while competing in soccer and volleyball. Fife competed in swimming, basketball and soccer, was active in music and held a 3.777 GPA.

The Wednesday edition of the Frontiersman will include a special section with more on the eight nominees, and features about the two winners.

Each winner will be recognized during a check presentation Thursday night at about 6:45 p.m. at Hermon Brothers Field, prior to the start of the Miners game against the Chinooks.