Wendy’s High School Heisman Award Names School Winners
MADISON- The Heisman High School Scholarship continues the legacy of the Wendy’s High School Heisman Award, a program created in 1994 by Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas in partnership with The Heisman Trophy Trust.
The local winners of the 2019 award chosen by a committee at each of the local high schools include Lauren Lyons and Bradly Spindle at Bob Jones and Kristin Day of James Clemens.
Spindle runs both cross country and track and field for the Patriots where he specializes in the 3,200, 2-mile, 1,600, 800 and 2,000 steeple chase. He was the no. 4 runner for the Jets cross country squad where he had a personal best of 17-minutes, 16-seconds in the 5K distance.
Away from the prep sports, Spindle, son of Tom and Shayla Spindle, also plays recreational basketball and focuses on challenging classes in the classroom where he has a 4.0 grade point average. He hopes to be a walk-on at Brigham Young University where he will study political science.
“I started cross country my freshman year as I love to run and I can’t stop,” said Spindle. “The sport allows me to clear my head. It’s fun, exciting and something I really love to do.”
He has a leadership position at his church and just completed earning his Eagle status with the Boy Scouts.
“I overcame leg and Achilles injuries my sophomore season and fought iron deficiency last season,” said Spindle.
Lyons began playing volleyball in physical education classes and liked the experiences she had so she began to pursue the sport to where she became one of the top players for the Patriots squad at Bob Jones. Her play presented her the Most Valuable Player Award in a recent Area Tournament. The 5-foot-8 athlete plans on attending Auburn under a full academic scholarship and will only play club level volleyball. Her current 4.4 grade point average ranks among the top 50 in her senior class and scored a 36 on her ACT.
“I made good connections with all of the players on our teams and I’m always the first to volunteer and make everyone included in what we were doing,” said Lyons, daughter of Susan Lyons and the late Ed Lyons. “I really focus on my grades and strive to be the best I can be. When my father passed away in 2014 I took a sort of leadership role within my family of all females.”
Lyons is a member of numerous organizations at Bob Jones including most of the academic organizations and does volunteer work at food drives and Santa’s Village.
James Clemens had one school winner as Kristin Day took the honor as a cross country runner for the Jets. Longtime Jets’ head coach Drew Bell said of his star athlete, “Kristin refuses to lose.”
The daughter of Randy and Kelly Day, the scholar-athlete is among the school’s top 20 academically with a 4.8 grade point average. She’s undecided about where she wants to attend college but is currently looking at both Alabama and Florida State for her academic scholarships and possible attempt as a walk-on runner.
Day’s four years at James Clemens included her fight against being anemic. She fought through the iron deficiency and bettered her time in the 5K cross country race by at least 12 minutes as a junior. She posted a personal best of 19.40 this year, which knocked off two minutes from the previous season.
“I volunteer for several of the clubs and organizations I’m a member of,” said Lyons. “I’m passionate about everything I do as I never give up.”
“During her illness she never gave up as she kept smiling and running every day because she loves her team and running,” added Bell. “She worked her way back to not only the top on her team, but to one of the best runners in the state.”
“I began running in middle school, participated in a 5K, and I liked it,” said Day. “I kept with it to my No. 1 position on the Jets’ squad.”
The Heisman High School Award extends the Heisman prestige to our nation’s most esteemed high school seniors by recognizing and rewarding outstanding scholar-athletes who understand the important victories just don’t happen on the competition playing field, but in their schools and communities.
