Montgomery Catholic Standout
Named Gatorade Alabama
Cross-Country Runner of the Year
In its 31st year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes,
The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High
School Sports, today announced Amaris Tyynismaa of Montgomery
Catholic Preparatory School as its 2015-16 Gatorade Alabama Girls
Cross Country Runner of the Year. Tyynismaa is the first Gatorade
Alabama Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from
Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence
but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary
character demonstrated on and off the racecourse, distinguishes
Tyynismaa as Alabama’s best high school girls cross country runner.
Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Cross
Country Runner of the Year award to be announced in January,
Tyynismaa joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners
in 12 sports, including Ryan Hall (1999-00, 2000-01, Big Bear HS,
Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker
(2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our
Lady of Mercy, N.Y.) and Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS,
Calif.).
The 5-foot-6 freshman distance runner won a second consecutive Class
4A individual state championship with a time of 17:52.25 this past
season, leading the Knights to fourth place as a team. The Montgomery
Advertiser’s two-time AllMetro Female Cross Country Runner of
the Year, Tyynismaa took 20th at the Foot Locker South Regional
championships in 18:06. Unbeaten against Alabama competition in
2015, her third-place finish of 17:42.54 at the 17th Annual Jesse Owens
Classic was the state’s fastest 5K among prep competitors this past fall.
Tyynismaa has maintained an A average in the classroom. In
addition to donating her time as a mentor and instructor for the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, she has volunteered locally on behalf of her church.
“I think she is bringing the girls to a new level with how good she is,”
said Stephen Bowen, head coach at rival Straughn High. “She is pushing
my girls to work harder and get better. She is basically resetting the bar
for girls’ cross country.”
L8 |
Spring 2016
MEA Artists Selected
for Local Exhibit
Three Macon East art students were selected for the
recent Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts ARTWORKS
corridor. This quarter’s corridor theme, Transformations:
Tools and Art, featured contemporary art celebrating
the omnipresence of tools in our lives. The committee of
museum curators, educators, and local artists received
200 entries from 19 area schools and selected 56 works
for the exhibit. Samantha Pittenger’s painting, Everything
Is An Instrument, displays a small bird made up of tiny
tools. Hannah Johnsons’ mixed media, In Bloom, boasts a
clever combination of watercolor flowers with inked tools,
and Savannah Clemen’s photograph, Earth Cut, shows
how an everyday saw can be created using sticks, leaves
and rocks. The exhibition runs until January 3 in the
ARTWORKS corridor at MMFA.
Distinguished Young Woman
of Montgomery County
Saint James senior Brook Engles was awarded the title of
Distinguished Young Woman of Montgomery County,
taking home thousands of dollars in college scholarships.
Twenty-eight senior high school girls competed in the
program that encourages girls to develop their potential
in a showcase of their accomplishments. Brook took
home several individual awards as well, among them a
full scholarship to Troy University.
www.potentialmagazine.com