High effort students receive heisman award
Senior Ashley Broderick kicks the ball while running from a defender. Broderick also won the Heisman Award, and continued on into the final round for state.
November 7, 2016
The Wendy’s High School Heisman awards students who put in year-round effort and dedication to their academics and to a sport.
Seniors Kyle Evert and Ashley Broderick both brought home a Wendy’s High School Heisman Award for the county, and Broderick made it to the finals for the state Heisman award.
Wendy’s founder, Dave Thomas, started giving the Heisman award to athletes that were effective on the field and in the classroom. The first recipient of the Heisman was in 1994, and today, more than 600,000 students have been honored with the award. The students who receive the award must be a senior with a 3.0 GPA and must have participated in one of the recognized Heisman sports, which include baseball, basketball, soccer, or lacrosse.
Senior Kyle Evert swings for a ball. Evert won the Wendy’s High School Heisman Award for Fayette county for his participation in baseball and basketball.
“[Broderick] has played on a high level, and really excels on the ball,” girls’ soccer coach John Bowen said. “She really does well on the field technically [and] tactically. She really knows what we want and need her to do.”
Broderick has played on the varsity girls’ soccer team since her freshman year of high school, and contributed to the Mill’s win at state during her sophomore year. Within the past three years, Broderick has taken up several leadership positions including being co-treasurer for the Class of 2017 Executive Board and being an active member in Student Government Association, where she also contributed to the reconstruction of the club this past summer.
“It was exciting, but I didn’t know I had won until people started asking me what I had won,” Broderick said. “Twitter had let people know before I knew that I had won.”
Fellow senior Kyle Evert also earned this esteemed award.
Evert has played on the Starr’s Mill varsity baseball team since his sophomore year, as well as played basketball on the varsity team for his junior and senior years. Evert, as an undersized player, has had to put in extra effort and work extra hard to earn his spot on the team.
Although he was eliminated for the state award, Evert’s efforts in extra-curriculars earned him the Wendy’s High School Heisman Award at the county level.
“I was extremely surprised to win, I didn’t expect to even get close to winning,” Evert said.
