The winners at Wednesday's 49th Annual Scholar Athlete Awards Dinner all found plenty of success both on and off the football field.
The achievements of Hereford's David Eldridge, Severn's Brian Bieman, W.E.B. DuBois' De'Andre Taylor and John Carroll's Jonathan Galarraga earned them $4,000 each scholarships from the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
These scholarships are given in five regional areas annually, but this year there were six winners as Judd Ziegler (Middletown) and Michael Hunt (Brunswick) tied for West region's top spot and both also got the scholarships. There were 75 nominees overall.
Each of the six winners made brief speeches, but Galarraga's proved the most emotional. The senior hasn't made his college choice yet and isn't sure if he'll play football, but he said just having the chance to do so at John Carroll taught him a lot.
"I definitely wouldn't be the person I am today without football," Galarraga said. "Football has instilled in me a strong sense of determination, discipline … and love."
Galarraga played center and linebacker and ranks No. 1 in his class academically. He's also an AP scholar and a National Merit semifinalist.
Bieman missed his team's baseball game for the dinner, but it turned out to be a good decision. The linebacker/guard enjoyed being part of a Severn team that improved from 1-9 in 2010 to 8-2 this fall. Bieman's in the top 10 percent of his class and is headed to Lehigh where he may walk try to walk on.
Eldridge was a three-year starter as a lineman, a Baltimore County champion in wrestling and has played lacrosse. Off the field, he's a honor roll student and a member of the National Honor Society and hasn't made a final college choice.
"I'm speechless," he said. "I've always played hard … but it's nice to get recognized for academics."
Taylor was a DuBois captain as a wide receiver and strong safety, and he's and in the top five percent of his class. He's also on the basketball and baseball teams and is unsure of his college choice.
Awards were also given to the four public school state championship — Dunbar, River Hill, Middletown and Old Mill. Gilman also was honored as the top-ranked Baltimore area football team.
Alexandra Bryant (Eastern Tech) and Antoine Wright (Catonsville) both won courage awards, while Roger Wrenn was given the Herb Armstrong Service to Football honor. Wrenn was a head coach for 37 years before retiring from Poly at the end of the season.
"I wouldn't have traded this life for any other I could have had," Wrenn said.
