Amherst’s Pop Warner participants earn All-American honors

Amherst Middle School students Justin Twarog, far left, Olivia Boyd and Mitchell Woite earned All-American scholar status with Pop Warner Football and Cheer.

At their end of the year banquet, the Amherst Broncos organization recognized the football players and cheerleaders who earned 2006 Academic Excellence awards.

The Amherst Broncos are a member of Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that provides football and cheer programs to children across the country. It is the only national youth sports organization that requires scholastic aptitude to participate. This season, 14 cheerleaders and 33 football players were presented with certificates of academic excellence for earning a 90 percent or above average for the entire previous school year. Additionally, six of the children qualified for Pop Warner All-American status. Olivia Boyd (98.20), Taylor Balser (97.00), Justin Twarog (96.40), CJ Westcott (98.56), Mitchell Woite (98.50) and Eric Wilson (98.45) each met the All-American qualifications and exceeded the 96 GPA requirements. Each of the six is eligible for further national recognition, including First and Second Team All-American Honors. These selections will be based on the student’s grades, activities and non-sports related achievements and would render them eligible for scholarships and the National Scholar Banquet in Walt Disney World.

First and Second Team All-American selections will be announced on April 1, 2007.