CHAPEL HILL – The North Carolina High School Athletic Association is pleased to announce the winners of the 2019 William Clary Medal scholarship. This year’s recipients are Abigal Furman from Charles E. Jordan High School in Durham and Myles Cyrus from Ralph L. Fike High School in Wilson. Winners of the Clary Medal are awarded a one-time $2,000 scholarship and a commemorative plaque at the NCHSAA’s Annual Meeting. This year’s meeting will be held Thursday, May 2, 2019 at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill.
Abigail Furman – Charles E. Jordan High School – Durham, NC
Abigail Furman is a two-sport athlete at Jordan High School where she participated on the Varsity Swim and Tennis teams all four years. She was voted an All-Conference athlete twice for tennis and qualified for regionals in swimming three years in a row. Furman also held leadership roles as the Editor of the Jordan Yearbook, and student government Chief of Staff. Her work continued outside of school with organizations such as Made in Durham and the Westminster Presbyterian Youth Group. Furman plans on double-majoring in Public Policy and Women’s and Gender Studies and hopes to ultimately go to law school.
Myles Cyrus – Ralph L. Fike High School – Wilson, NC
Myles Cyrus, a member of the Soccer and Baseball teams at Ralph L. Fike High School, culminated his athletic career being named to the All-State soccer team. He was selected to represent Region 1 at the NC Powerade State Games twice in soccer and once in baseball. Cyrus is currently ranked 11th in his class and has been accepted to North Carolina State University, UNC-Charlotte, and Hampton University where he plans to major in Biochemistry. He has served as Vice President of the Beta Club and as a Senior Officer for the school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
ABOUT THE CLARY MEDAL
The Clary Medal is made possible through the generosity of the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation and annually recognizes an outstanding male and female varsity student athlete participating in varsity competition in at least two NCHSAA-sanctioned teams. The award is based on the individual’s excellence in athletic participation, extra-curricular activities and community service. Each recipient of this medal exhibits a desire to excel in all areas of life – athletics, education, sportsmanship, teamwork, leadership, honesty and integrity.
Wilburn Clary’s athletic career involved coaching, officiating and administration. He coached several sports at the Methodist Children’s Home for almost 30 years, was an outstanding official on the high school and collegiate level and served as the executive secretary of the Western North Carolina High School Activities Association from 1949-1977 until it merged with the NCHSAA. Mr. Clary was the first collegiate football official to be inducted into the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
