CHAPEL HILL – Cameryn Smith of West Brunswick High School and Dalton Edwards of West Iredell High School have been named winners of the annual Jerry McGee Endowed Scholarships awarded by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

           The two outstanding student-athletes will be recognized during the North Carolina Coaches Association clinic in Greensboro next week, at the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association (NCADA) Leadership Academy held as part of the clinic week.

           The scholarships are made possible through the generosity of donors to the fund in honor of the long-time NCADA executive director Jerry McGee. McGee is a member of both the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame and the National High School Sports Hall of Fame. Awarded to two senior year high school student-athletes from NCHSAA member schools each year, this award is unique because it honors both male and female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves by overcoming adversity and returned to excel beyond expectations in their scholastic sport. The NCADA Awards Committee selects recipients with approval by the NCADA Executive Board.

            Smith was a women’s golf performer at West Brunswick who served as team captain one year and finished in the individual top 10 twice in four years of qualifying for the NCHSAA state tournament.  The first player from her school to qualify for the state event, she also earned conference Player of the Year honors as a junior.

           A member of the National Honor Society and Key Club in high school, Smith battled a rare blood disorder discovered after a lengthy hospital stay during her freshman year but was still able to excel in golf.  She plans to play collegiately at Queens University in Charlotte.

           Edwards played soccer and football during his career, but could not complete his junior year in sports because he needed a liver transplant after two major surgeries as a result of battling cancer.   He still managed to be an all-conference performer as a goalkeeper in soccer.

           He was a member of the National Honor Society and involved in Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) while also serving as a peer mentor at the school. He will be attending Pfeiffer University this fall.

           Each recipient receives a $1,000 scholarship to further his or her education at the college level.