Rome High School Honored as Most Positive High School in the Region, Other Athletes Recognized

For the tenth consecutive year, the Positive Athlete organization has named their Regional Award Winners for the Northwest GA Region, where Student-Athletes representing 25 different boys’ and girls’ high school sports, two coaches, and Rome High School have been selected as the “Most Positive” in their categories.

Positive Athlete’s Northwest GA Region consists of schools located in the following counties: Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Pickens, Polk, Walker &Whitfield.

In total, 23 different public and private high schools were represented amongst the winners for this year’s awards cycle.

This year, over 6,800 nominations from coaches, principals, athletic directors, teachers, and parents were submitted for the Positive Athlete program state-wide, representing over 420 public and private high schools.

Former Forest Park High School, University of Georgia and Pittsburgh Steelers star, Hines Ward, and local businessman Scott Pederson created Positive Athlete as a movement for more positivity in youth sports. In addition to excellence on the field, each nominated Positive Athlete was required to show characteristics such as an optimistic attitude, teammate encouragement, servant leadership, heart for others, ability to admit imperfections, giving 100 percent all the time, and realizing the team as more important than the individual.

Here is a list of the 2023-2024 Northwest GA Regional Award Winners:
NAME HIGH SCHOOL CATEGORY
ABBY GUARDADO GORDON CENTRAL GIRLS TENNIS
AVAH MORRISON HERITAGE (RINGGOLD) GIRLS TRACK & FIELD
BOWEN ESTES HARALSON COUNTY BOYS GOLF
BRAXTON VINEYARD MURRAY COUNTY BOYS BASKETBALL
BRAYLON JAMES ROCKMART BOYS SOCCER
BRAYLON PRITCHETT RIDGELAND BOYS ALTERNATIVE SPORT
CHETTA DODGE ROME VOLLEYBALL
CHRISTINA GASS LAKEVIEW-FT. OGLETHORPE GIRLS BASKETBALL
COLE DINGLER CEDARTOWN BASEBALL
EMERY BRYANT PICKENS GIRLS GOLF
EMMA SCOTT ROCKMART GIRLS MULTI-SPORT
ETHAN ELLISON MODEL BOYS TENNIS
EVAN MAY GILMER GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING
GARRETT MAHAN TRION FOOTBALL
KAREN AJANEL CETO COAHULLA CREEK GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
KATIE HENNON PEPPERELL GIRLS ALTERNATIVE SPORT
KILEIGH BARCOMB ARMUCHEE CHEER & GYMNASTICS
LEXI LYON NORTHWEST WHITFIELD GIRLS SOCCER
MADDY LEE RINGGOLD SOFTBALL
NICOLE HARRIS LAFAYETTE GIRLS COACH
PRESTON POAG NORTH MURRAY BOYS COACH
SYDENY KRUGER LAFAYETTE FLAG FOOTBALL
TANNER MILLER DADE COUNTY BOYS TRACK & FIELD
THOMAS YOUNG SONORAVILLE WRESTLING
TUCKER HENDERSON LAFAYETTE BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
TYLER HEWITT ROME BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING
WAYLON CARTER COOSA BOYS MULTI-SPORT

In addition to recognizing the athletes and coaches, Rome High School in Rome was honored as the Most Positive High School in the region after an impressive number of quality nominations.

All of these award winners will be recognized on campus at their local high schools, and now have a chance to win a state-wide award in their sport category, which will be announced in early May. The 2024 Georgia Positive Athlete Awards will be held in early June, and will be a night in which all scholarship winners and statewide award winners are recognized.

Positive Athlete, INC. is an organization based in Georgia that seeks to promote the benefits of positivity to young athletes around the country through awards, scholarships and special opportunities. Positive Athlete Georgia has awarded regional winners of Positive Athlete awards around the State of GA for the past 10 years, in which over $350,000 in scholarships have been awarded. Positive Athlete also has an awards program in Western Pennsylvania.