CHAPEL HILL — Gabby Mayo of Southeast Raleigh High School and Dee Bost of Concord High School have been named winners of the 2007 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 E, Smith Center on the University of North Carolina campus during the NCHSAA's Annual Meeting on Thursday.
Both of the winners 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 have tremendously impressive credentials along the lines of the previous outstanding winners of this award, and we certainly wish them the best in the future."
Bost pulled off an unprecedented feat this year, winning the state 3-A championship Most Valuable Player award in both football and basketball, leading Concord to state titles in both sports.
In football, he was moved to the quarterback position after his team started 0-3 and then the Spiders reeled off 13 consecutive victories. He completed 63 percent of his passes this season and threw for almost 3,000 yards and 25 touchdowns.
In basketball, he averaged 15 points and five assists per game. He earned the Most Valuable Player award in the Western Regional two consecutive years and poured in 27 points in the state 3-A championship game to lead Concord to an 85-79 decision over Kinston in the state title game. Then he went on to earn the MVP honors in the Carolinas All-Star basketball classic as he led North Carolina to victory over South Carolina in that game in Rock Hill, S.C.
Mayo has been a star on the national stage in track and has put her name in the record books in North Carolina in both indoor and outdoor track.
She has won three different individual championships in indoor track, including taking top honors in the 55-meter dash the last two years. She has earned 12 individual state track titles and has broken six state records thus far while winning four different events in the NCHSAA 4-A outdoor championships.
Mayo has been chosen as the 2006 Youth Athlete of the Year by USA Track and Field and has run the fastest time in the country in both the 100 and 200 meters. She represented the United States in the Junior World Competition in China and helped set a junior world record in the four by 100 relay there.
Contact: Rick Strunk (919-962-7786)
