The Ashtabula Distance Runners Club (ADR) is pleased to announce the awarding of two $500 college scholarships to Ashtabula County high school seniors who participated in cross country during the 2019-2020 school year.
The ADR Board of Directors selected Geneva High Scholl graduate Elizabeth N. Joy as the 2020 female recipient and Jefferson High School graduate Nicholas Diehl as the 2020 male recipient.
Diehl completed his high school career with a 3.959 grade point average and plans to attend Ohio State University this fall. Joy finished with a 3.882 grade point average and will attend the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
During the 2019 Cross Country season, Joy finished first at several meets, including the McDonough Invitational, the Grand Valley Invitational and the Ashtabula All County Meet.
She finished second at the Chagrin Valley Conference meet and at districts with a personal record of 19:31.32, qualifying her for regionals in Boardman. At Boardman, she finished 12th qualifying her for the state meet, where she finished 42nd.
“Although extremely competitive while running she is the first to check on her teammates after a race,” said Geneva coach Emily Long. “She talks with competitors from other teams helping to enhance our local running community.”
Diehl was a four-year letterman for Jefferson and a two-time finisher in the regional meet.
“As a member of the cross country and track team he has demonstrated great leadership skills and has been a role model to our younger athletes on and off the field,” said Jefferson coach Terry Furman. “He has gone out of his way to stay after and work with junior high athletes in track and cross country. He has represented our school with class, honor, and respect throughout his years here. He has shown great character and respect to all coaches, officials, and opposing players.”
The ADR Board of Directors received applications from eight students who were seniors during the 2019-2020 cross country season.
Scholarships winners are chosen based on several factors involving a student’s academic and athletic accomplishments along with service within their school and community.
“We were happy to receive a number of great candidates to consider for a scholarship and our board did a great job deliberating the merits of each candidate’s application,” said John Hutchison, ADR Board President. “These awards will help Elizabeth and Nicholas pursue their academic dreams. We look forward to each winner further contributing to the community.”
Traditionally, ADR also awards two $500 scholarships to track and field athletes. However, due to COVID-19 canceling spring sports, ADR did not make any scholarship awards to track and field athletes for the 2019-2020 school year.