After receiving hundreds of nominations from across the state over a seven-month period, the PCH Sports Medicine program has selected the Comeback Student Athlete of the Year and Fan Fave Comeback Student Athlete awards.
The winners were announced last night at a special banquet emceed by 12News weekend anchor Bruce Cooper with a guest appearance from Anthony Robles, who won the 2010-11 NCAA individual wrestling championship in the 125-pound weight class despite being born with only one leg. The program honors outstanding young athletes who have returned to competition after receiving treatment for an injury, illness or physical limitation.
PCH Sports Medicine presented Joe Underwood, a ninth-grader at Desert Vista High School, with the Comeback Student Athlete of the Year award, a $2,500 scholarship, and a $1,000 cash grant for Desert Vista High School’s athletic department. Underwood, an Ahwatukee resident, began his comeback story the day he was born. Born with spina bifida, Underwood is paralyzed in both legs and uses a wheelchair full-time. He also has hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid inside the skull that can lead to brain swelling. However, this did not stop Underwood from becoming a multi-sport athlete who has competed in both swimming and wheelchair basketball since the age of 8.
Underwood received the highest scores in three categories from the judges’ panel. The categories are: perseverance through recovery, comeback success and story appeal The judges also selected five other Comeback Student Athlete of the Year finalists:
• Corey Robertson, Cactus Shadows High School
• Savannah Allen, Pinnacle High School
• Megan Oleno, Horizon High School
• Rocky Lorenzo, McClintock High School
• Michael Contreras, Boulder Creek High School
Through online voting, Savannah Allen, a freshman at Pinnacle High School in Paradise Valley, was chosen as Fan Fave Comeback Student Athlete of the Year, and received a $2,000 scholarship and a $1,000 cash grant for her school’s athletic program or club team. Allen has been a dedicated soccer player for the last 10 years, stepping onto the field for the first time at three years old. However, Allen’s dedication to soccer has been challenged by an injury from a car accident that happened when she was four years old. The accident left her arm paralyzed, and has required seven surgeries. Despite the demands of these multiple surgeries, Allen never missed a practice or game and is an integral member of the Pinnacle High School girls’ varsity soccer team.
Allen was joined by two other Fan Fave finalists:
• Corey Robertson, Cactus Shadows High School
• Megan Olen, Horizon High School
In 18 days, more than 125,000 online votes were cast on behalf of the 28 Comeback Student Athlete nominees, an average of more than 4,450 votes per athlete.
Over a seven-month period, the program recognized 28 Comeback Student Athletes whose stories were featured on12News’ Friday Night Fever and Sports Tonight, Facebook and YouTube. All of the Comeback Student Athlete of the Week winners were eligible for the Comeback Student Athlete of the Year and Fan Fave awards.
Additional weekly winners include:
• Sierra Aulik, Apache Junction High School
• Trent Becker, Foothills Academy
• Andrew Bradway, Arcadia High School
• Morgan Brown , Westar Elementary School
• Brodie Cunningham, Paradise Valley High School
• Cara Clancy, Phoenix Christian High School
• Ryan Dowd, Brophy College Prep
• Alexa Foster, Desert Vista High School
• Jared Frame, Scottsdale Christian Academy
• Dana Hinrichs, Mountain Trail Middle School
• Luis Manta, Hamilton High School
• Aubri McKee, Higley High School
• Sheridan Metcalf, Mountain View High School
• Kyle Morlack, Millennium High School
• Sam Papa, Desert Ridge Football Team
• Drew Saba Hicks, Prescott High School
• Alec Salotti, Lake Pleasant Elementary
• Megan Schneiderman , Royal Palm Middle School
• Sam Sheps, Horse Shoe Trails Elementary
• Harrison Sokol, Redfield Elementary School
• Jake Travland, Val Vista Lakes Elementary
• Rachel Waite, Chandler High School
About the Comeback Student Athlete of the Week PCH Sports Medicine’s Comeback Student Athlete of the Year Award honors outstanding young athletes between the ages of 8 and 18 who have returned to athletic competition after receiving treatment for an injury, illness, or physical limitation. For information, visit www.facebook.com/pchsportsmed.
About PCH Sports Medicine for Young Athletes
PCH Sports Medicine is the state’s first program to cater to the unique needs of growing young athletes. In teens and kids, injuries and medical problems in the bones, growth plates, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints are often quite different from the same conditions in adults. Through a comprehensive assessment, treatment, and follow-up, young athletes get the age-appropriate support and care they need to recover and return to physical activity. The program also focuses heavily on sports injury prevention. Considering that most sports injuries are preventable, education is a vital component to the program. For more information, visit www.phoenixchildrens.com/sportsmedicine.
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