CHAPEL HILL— The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) has named Anna Tharrington of Southern Nash Senior High School and Nick Maddox of A.L. Brown High School of Kannapolis as winners of the 1999 NCHSAA Athlete of the Year awards.
These are the top athletic awards given by the NCHSAA to honor the most outstanding male and female high school athletes in the state. They were presented at the Dean Smith Center on the University of North Carolina campus during the NCHSAA's Annual Meeting.
Both Tharrington and Maddox were nominated by member schools and selected by a special panel of media representatives from across the state. They were each presented with the Pat Best Memorial Trophy, named for the former Goldsboro High principal and president of the NCHSAA who died unexpectedly in 1988.
"We congratulate these fine student-athletes on their great achievements during their high school careers," said Charlie Adams, executive director of the NCHSAA. "Both Anna and Nick have tremendously impressive credentials along the lines of the previous outstanding winners of this award. We certainly wish them the best in the future."
Maddox is a three-sport star in football, basketball and track, headed to Florida State University on a football scholarship. The six-foot, 190-pounder was a Parade All-American in '97 and twice earned Associated Press Football State Player of the Year honors. He scored 114 touchdowns and a state record 686 points during his football career and rushed for an incredible 6,654 yards. That includes 2,574 yards and an average of 9.6 yards per carry as a senior, during which he scored 45 touchdowns.
He was a three-year starter in basketball, although he didn't play this year due to the time commitment involved with his recruiting in football. An all-conference player in basketball with a 37-inch vertical leap, he averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds as a junior. And in track he has qualified for the NCHSAA state championships three consecutive years, running in the 100 and 200 and on a couple of relay teams.
Maddox is also a fine student and is a member of the National Honor Society, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Spanish Club, and heattended Boys State of North Carolina.
Among the women, three-sport star Tharrington participated in volleyball, basketball and softball. She was the Big Eight Conference Player of the Year twice in that sport and earned all-league honors three times in volleyball.
A solid contributor in basketball, she averaged eight points per game as a senior. But in softball, she leads the perennially state contending Lady Firebirds. She is a former conference player of the year in that sport as well and is currently batting .471. She will be attending the University of North Carolina, where she will play softball.
Earlier Anna had been named the winner of an NCHSAA Regional Scholarship in the program sponsored by Capitol Broadcasting, and she is ranked first in her senior class with a grade point average of 4.51. She is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Key Club, sports editor of the school newspaper, and involved in the Beta Club and student council.
Contact: Rick Strunk (919-962-7786)
