NCHSAA Adams Endowed Scholarships

SIXTH ANNUAL ADAMS SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

CHAPEL HILL – Elvie Sumner of Hobbton High School and Joseph Meyers of Holly Springs High School have been named winners of the sixth annual Charles Adams Endowed Scholarships awarded by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

The two outstanding student-athletes will be recognized at the NCHSAA’s Annual Meeting on May 7 at the Dean E. Smith Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The scholarships are made possible through the generosity of donors to the fund in honor of the long-time NCHSAA executive director, who retired in 2010 after 42 years with the organization. He was inducted into the NCHSAA Hall of Fame in 2009, is a member of the National High School Sports Hall of Fame, and is also the only North Carolinian ever to serve as president of the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Sumner has participated in cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field during her career at Hobbton, but her story actually starts in Latvia. She was born there and was in an orphanage before being adopted and coming to the United States. She served as captain of the cross country team and made all-conference in that sport.

The Hobbton student has been a Junior Marshal and is a member of the Beta Club, taking a variety of Advanced Placement and honors classes. She will continue her education at Appalachian State University and is interested in architecture.

Meyers is an outstanding wrestler who has lettered three years in the sport at Holly Springs and was captain of this year’s squad. He took first place in the Eagle Invitational in the 126-pound class.

The Holly Springs student-athlete qualified for the “A” Honor Roll for four years, is a member of the National Honor Society and was a junior marshal. He is the founder and president of the “History of Gaming” club at his school and served as a student ambassador for a trip to China in 2012. Joseph is also a member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society and a member of Colla Voce, the school’s advanced choral ensemble.
He plans to attend North Carolina State University and the College of Engineering at NCSU.

One scholarship award annually recognizes a male wrestler in memory of Charlie and Sue’s son Scott, who was the first individual wrestler from Chapel Hill High School to compete in the state wrestling championships. One goes to a female cross-country runner in honor of Charlie’s daughter Michelle Adams Szwajkun, who participated in cross country at Chapel Hill and ran on the 1984 state championship team. Each recipient receives a $1,500 scholarship to further his or her education at the college level.

“We are pleased to honor Charlie and his family with these scholarship awards and are proud of the accomplishments that these recipients have achieved,” said Davis Whitfield, commissioner of the NCHSAA.