Cardinals’ end of year Athletic Awards

The Columbus Cardinals held their yearly award ceremony in the Marley Giddens Gym on Thursday, May 16, to award some of their athletes for their contributions this season.

On Thursday, gave out the MVP, Cardinal Spirit Award and the Torch Award, to a male and female athletes who were deserving of the award.

The Cards saw a ton of athletic success this season so picking a winner was an extremely difficult task for the coaches. There was obviously some debate as to who should win these awards amongst the coaches, but they ultimately decided on these six athletes.

The first duo of male and female athletes to receive their awards was Scarlett McClelland and Devin Woods. They received the Torch Award, given in memory of former Columbus coach Greg Lundgren.

It is an award given to the athletes who give their all both in and away from sports. They define what it truly means to wear red and white and to be a Columbus Cardinal.

These guys carry the torch and lead by example, and because of how these two athletes carried themselves this season they were fully deserving of this prestigious award.

Next up was the Cardinal spirit award given to the athletes that wanted nothing more this season than to be a Columbus Cardinal. They were at every pep rally bringing the energy getting their classmates engaged then they turned around and displayed their talents to perfection on the field.

They always brought the juice to the field or the court and their teammates fed off the energy they brought. Being able to handle such a task is daunting for any athlete, but two Cardinals stood out above the rest.

Karlee Mathis and Jayden Trapp were selected as the winners of the Cardinals Spirit award in the 2024 season. Mathis has always been that vocal leader no matter what sport she was playing, she held her teammates accountable and because of her infectious energy the basketball team competed for a State Championship and now the softball team is competing for one.

Trapp was just a force to reckon with on the field and on the court. He’s a big, strong kid with a heart of gold who gets more satisfaction putting his teammates before himself.

Trapp also made sure that all of his teammates represented the school well on road trips as he wasn’t scared to enforce the rules set out by the coaches.

Lastly, there were the female and male MVPs for the 2024 Columbus Cardinal season. Sage Thomas and Ty’Vone Whitehead were announced as the winners and for a good reason.

These two seniors left their mark on the athletic program because they both turned in great senior seasons. Thomas had her fingerprints in almost every sport but her three big ones were volleyball, basketball and tennis.

In volleyball, Thomas was averaging 10-15 assists a game, in basketball she was tenacious defender that frustrated opposing offenses. Then in tennis her along with doubles partner Camdon Pitchford, they racked up several medals this season to put a nice cherry on top.

Whitehead was just as dominate, he was named the District MVP for football being the top rusher in the district and leading the district in rushing touchdowns. Whitehead also made an impact in track as he defended his crown well in the 100m dash but came up just short in the regional meet.

With the awards given out it’s time for the Columbus Cardinals to shift their focus to next season where a new group of Cardinals will be looking to earn their wings.