FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2002


Caplin, Wilson named 2002 FHSAA Scholar-Athletes of the Year

TAMPA – Courtney Caplin of St. Johns Country Day School (Orange Park) and Nick Wilson of Paxon School for Advanced Studies were named the 2002 FHSAA Female and Male Scholar-Athletes of the Year at the Eighth Annual Florida High School Activities Association Academic All-State Awards Banquet held June 14 at the Wyndham Westshore Hotel in Tampa.

The two students – among the 24 chosen to the 2002 FHSAA Academic All-State Team – received a $2500 scholarship and commemorative trophy in addition to the $500 award and medallion for being selected to the team. The Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award is generally regarded as the most prestigious award the Association confers upon a student-athlete.

Caplin finished her high school career with a 3.96 cumulative unweighted grade point average. She earned varsity letters in soccer and swimming & diving her junior and senior years, as well as track & field her junior year. Caplin will attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, studying chemistry, food sciences and nutrition.

In addition to being a three-sport athlete, Caplin served as Student Council vice president for St. Johns Country Day, was vice president and secretary for the National Honor Society, was a member of the Cum Laude Society and was named the Christian Athlete of the Year by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes her junior and senior years. Each of the last four years, she earned honors as First Team All-St. Johns County in soccer and qualified for the FHSAA Florida Swimming & Diving Finals state meet. Caplin served as captain of the varsity swimming & diving and track & field teams, while setting four school records in track & field. In addition to her interscholastic athletic achievements, she has garnered such honors as Miss Teen Orange Park and Miss Teen Clay County and is the reigning Jacksonville Women’s Table Tennis Champion.

Wilson finished his high school career with a 4.0 cumulative unweighted grade point average and ranked third in his 240-member senior class. He earned varsity letters in cross country and track & field his junior and senior years, as well as soccer and swimming & diving his senior year. Wilson will study engineering at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Wilson, a National Merit Scholar award winner and Florida Regional Winner for the SAMMY Milk Scholarship Award, scored a perfect 1600 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). He won the Class 2A individual state championship at both the 2000 and 2001 FHSAA Florida Cross Country Finals, as well as the 3200-meter run state champion at the 2000 and 2001 FHSAA Florida Track & Field Finals. He was the Florida Times-Union Runner of the Year in both his junior and senior years.

Wilson was a Grand Award winner in the Duke University Talent Identification Program in seventh grade, became a certified FIFA soccer referee at age 11, was a Junior Olympic qualifier in the 200-meter butterfly and 500-meter freestyle for the Bolles School (Jacksonville) swimming & diving team and achieved the rank of Eagle in Boy Scouts. He was captain and high scorer on the Paxon Brain Bowl team, captain and state champion of the Paxon track & field and cross country teams and state qualifier on the Paxon swim team. A member of JROTC, he has received numerous academic and athletic awards, such as delegate to Florida Boys State, and has received nominations to the U.S. Air Force Academy from U.S. Senator Bob Graham and Congressman Ander Crenshaw. In March, he was awarded an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy and also a full tuition, all expenses paid President’s Scholarship from Georgia Tech. Wilson is currently working on obtaining his pilot’s license before starting his college career.

Last April, 24 student-athletes – 12 boys and 12 girls – were chosen from among more than 200 qualified nominees from the Association’s 570 member high schools as the 2001 FHSAA Academic All-State Team. To be eligible for selection to the team, a student must be a graduating senior, must have a cumulative unweighted grade point average of 3.5 or better, and must have earned a varsity letter in at least two different sports during each of their junior and senior years.

The Florida High School Activities Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletics in Florida. It has a membership of 615 middle, junior and senior high schools.

Contact:
Robert Hernberger
Assistant Director of Communications, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 190
roberth@fhsaa.org