Seniors Kolby Heggenes and Lewis Pope were the recipients of this year’s Cliff Gillies Award for South Whidbey High School.
In addition to the Gillies Award, the school honored four other students with end-of-the-year athletic-centric awards.
Ten athletes were also selected to be honored on South Whidbey’s Wall of Fame.
Cliff Gillies
The award is given to a female and male student at each District 1 high school in honor of Gillies, a longtime coach and administrator.
Gillies started his teaching and coaching career in Monroe and later served on the Northwest District 1 board and as its president and eventually became executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association for 11 years.
He was also elected the president of the National Federation of State High School Associations in 1990-91.
The award’s criteria focus on scholarship, citizenship and activities.
Heggenes earned 12 varsity letters as a three-sport athlete in golf, volleyball and basketball. She placed second twice and third once at the state 1A/2B/1B golf tournament and helped South Whidbey finish first in 2017 and fourth in 2018 in the team standings.
In volleyball, she earned first-team All-Cascade Conference honors as an outside hitter and captained South Whidbey to the 1A state tournament.
Heggenes also was a captain on the girls basketball team.
She maintained a 3.47 grade-point average.
Pope averaged 23.8 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals per game while leading the South Whidbey boys basketball team to its first conference title since 1989. For his efforts, he was selected as the league’s co-Most Valuable Player and was an Associated Press 1A first-team, all-state selection.
He also was the Snohomish County Basketball Officials Association’s boys player of the year.
Lewis maintained a 3.87 grade-point average and initiated a group that works with students in adapted physical education.
He will continue his basketball career and education at Central Washington University.
Other Awards
Benjamin J. Borson, a Falcon tennis player, received the Loren Brixner Award, which is given to the male athlete with the highest grade point average and consistent participation in extracurricular programs.
Allison R. Lynch, who played basketball and tennis, was selected for the South Whidbey Board of Directors Award given to the female athlete with the highest GPA with consistent participation in extracurricular programs.
The Jim Leirer Award went to Ryan T. Wenzek (tennis, basketball, golf) and Mackenzee Collins (basketball, softball). The award goes to the senior male and female athletes who demonstrate qualities of good sportsmanship in day-to-day interactions with students and teachers in the classroom and athletic arenas.
Wall of Fame
Those added to the school’s Wall of Fame are Silas Batiste (soccer), Ari Rohan (soccer), Lake Smith (soccer), Sophia Nielsen (track), Heggenes (golf, volleyball), Pope (basketball), Romey Rohde (track), Collins (softball), Elizabeth Donnelly (track) and Bailey Todd (volleyball).
