PREP NOTEBOOK: Panthers’ Perry wins national scholarship
Published 11:40 pm Friday, June 13, 2008
Brad Perry has at least 7,500 reasons to like milk.
Perry, a recent graduate of Snohomish High School, is the winner of a 2008 Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award. One of 25 high school students around the country to receive the honor, Perry got a $7,500 scholarship and will be recognized later this month during a ceremony at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.
Perry, who plans to wrestle for Boise State University as an invited walk-on, said he expects tuition and other college-related costs to approach $12,000 during his first year.
“It’s a big one. It will definitely help,” Perry said of the SAMMY scholarship. “That one takes care of a big chunk of my freshman year.”
Perry was selected from about 65,000 applicants for the SAMMY Award. A panel of celebrity judges including Mia Hamm, Tony Hawk and Steve Nash helped pick winners. They considered success in academics, athletics, community service and leadership.
Perry was the starting quarterback for Snohomish’s football team that advanced to the Class 4A state playoffs. In February he won an individual state wrestling championship (140 pounds), the first title earned by a Panther grappler in 38 years.
In addition, Perry had a 4.0 grade-point average, was Snohomish’s Associated Student Body vice president, and spent time coaching youth football and youth wrestling.
Perry’s trip to Orlando will be his first journey to the East Coast. He hasn’t traveled further east than Montana. On June 28 he’ll be one of the grand marshalls for a parade at Disney World and will be honored that evening at an award ceremony.
Another perk of winning the SAMMY Award: Perry, along with the other 2008 winners, will appear in a Milk Mustache ad in the June 27 issue of USA Today.
The SAMMY Award is one of many scholarships and honors Perry received this school year. He also won a $2,000 Graham Morin Memorial Scholarship (coordinated by the Washington State Wrestling Coaches Association) and a $1,000 prize from the Snohomish County Football Officials Hall of Fame.
Altogether, Perry said he hauled in about $19,000 in scholarships.
Perry, who eventually hopes to coach varsity football and wrestling, said he fulfilled all of his goals during an action-packed senior year.
“It’s satisfying to know that I accomplished that,” Perry said.
Dickson hired at Class 2B Bear Creek: Alan Dickson, former head coach of the Monroe High girls basketball team, is the new girls hoops coach at The Bear Creek School, a Christian school in Redmond that competes in the Sea-Tac 2B League.
Dickson coached Monroe for 13 years and guided the Bearcats to seven state tournament appearances (four in 3A, three in 4A) before taking the 2007-08 season off to spend time with family and focus on his health. In 2005 Dickson was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Based on encouraging medical test results and his wife’s vote of confidence, Dickson decided to coach again.
“It will be fun to work in a smaller situation where you really get to know the kids. I thought that would be a good setting,” Dickson said.
This past season Bear Creek qualified for the district playoffs. The Grizzlies were 7-4 in league games and 12-10 overall. Of the six players expected to return next season, none will be seniors.
“I’ll have my work cut out for me but it will be fun,” said Dickson, who was hired by Bear Creek on May 30.
“We’re bringing in someone that has so much experience and so much success on a number of levels,” Bear Creek athletic director Chad Pohlman said.
Added Pohlman: “I took one look at (Dickson’s) resume and we were like, ‘Wow, we’ve got to do anything we can to get this guy.’”
Local girls picked for all-state hoops event: The following area athletes have been selected to play in the 2008 Washington All State Girls Basketball Games June 21 at West Valley High in Spokane: Archbishop Murphy’s Alyssa Smith, Darrington’s Hailey Wales, Elyse Bunger and Melissa Castor of North Sound Christian, and Coupeville’s Megan Smith.
The all-state competition will feature three games: B-East vs. B-West at 1:30 p.m., 1A-East vs. 1A-West at 3:30 p.m., and 2A/3A-East vs. 2A/3A-West at 5:30 p.m. All-day tickets are $5 for adults, and $3 for children and senior citizens.
King’s wins Scholastic Cup award: The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association announced the 2007-08 Wells Fargo Scholastic Cup Champions. The awards recognize programs that excelled in academics, sportsmanship and athletics. King’s of Shoreline won the 1A award. The other winners are: Mead (4A), Newport of Bellevue (3A), Sehome (2A), St. George’s (2B) and Odessa (1B).
Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.
