Sand Rock High School was in the spotlight at the 18th annual Bryant-Jordan Student Athlete Awards Banquet on April14 in Birmingham, as Wildcat seniors Amanda Crane and Ross Lumsden took home the Class 2A Achievement Award and Scholar-Athlete Award, respectively.

Crane was among 48 achievement winners chosen for the student-athlete’s ability to overcome major obstacles during their high school careers, while Lumsden was among 48 regional scholar-athlete winners selected for their excellence in athletics and academics.

As region winners, Crane and Lumsden received a $1,500 scholarship. As the Class 2A overall winners, Crane and Lumsden received an additional $3,000 scholarship.

In addition to Crane and Lumsden’s individual awards, Sand Rock School will receive $2,000.

Both Crane and Lumsden are three-sport athletes, with the former competing in volleyball, basketball and baseball and the latter playing football, basketball and baseball.

Crane was named All-State in volleyball and basketball, while Lumsden made All-State in football.

Crane recently signed a basketball scholarship to Gads-den State, while Lumsden accepted a scholarship at Alabama-Birmingham to study medicine.

“Amanda received her award before me, so that really put the pressure on me until they called my name,” admitted Lumsden. “Other than making All-State, though, this is about the biggest honor that you can get. I received the trophy, but it’s far more than an individual award. This reflects upon my teammates, coaches, teachers and administrators.”

Crane also spread around the credit for her award.

“I was really surprised that I won, and I’m very honored, because the reason that I’ve done so well is because of my parents, my teammates and especially [Sand Rock girls volleyball and basketball head coach] Lisa Bates. She’s a really good coach, and she’s helped me become a much better player and person.”

Both student-athletes also acknowledged the help of school counselor Tammy Fleming.

“We wouldn’t be her without her,” said Crane. “She’s the person who elected us and did all the paperwork. She told us what we needed to do for the contest and when we needed to do it, so she deserves a lot of credit.”

The two Wildcat seniors had just as much impact in the classroom as out on the court and field.

Lumsden carries a 101.3 GPA and ranked second in his class, while Crane sports a 98.0 GPA, good for fourth place out of Sand Rock’s 62-member Class of 2003.

Both are members of the Beta, Math and Science Clubs and the United States Achieve-ment Academy, while Lumsden is a member of the National Honor Society