CHAPEL HILL— Katrelle Armwood of the Durham School of the Arts and A.J. Davis of Northern Durham High School have been named winners of the 2002 Athlete of the Year awards by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA).
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 Armwood and Davis were nominated 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 Katrelle and A.J.have tremendously impressive credentials along the lines of the previous outstanding winners of this award. We certainly wish them the best in the future." It is the first time both athletes are from the same school system.
Davis has been among the nation's top performers in both football and track during his high school career. He was listed as one of the top 25 players in the country by USA Today and played in both the Shrine Bowl and the U.S Army All-American Bowl. He was a four-year varsity player for the perennially strong Northern Durham program, playing both wide receiver and cornerback.
He has captured a total of nine individual NCHSAA championships in track, both indoor and outdoor. He was the Most Valuable Performer in the 2002 indoor championships and won two titles in last year's outdoor meet. Davis has won the long jump, triple jump and high jump state championships during his prep career. He will be attending North Carolina State University on a basketball scholarship.
Armwood is a three-sport star at Durham School of the Arts. She was the Most Valuable Player in the NCHSAA state 1-A volleyball championships as she led her team to the state title and was Player of the Year in that sport in the Tar Roanoke Conference. In basketball, she averaged 14 points, nine rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.8 steals and was runner-up for conference player of the year in women's basketball.
In outdoor track, Armwood has won several state championships during her career, including winning the triple jump, 300 meter intermediate hurdles, 100 meter high hurdles and long jump, and has been runner-up in an event on six other occasions. In addition, Armwood carries a brilliant 4.302 grade point average.
Contact: Rick Strunk (919-962-7786)
