GREENSBORO, N.C. – Four Greensboro high school students were awarded the Bill Lee Scholarship during the 36th annual Pizza Hut Invitational presented by NewBridge Bank, it was announced today. The Greensboro Sports Council awards the $2,000 scholarships during this annual high school basketball tournament.
The winners will receive their formal awards during today’s Bill Lee Scholarship Reception at 5 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. Following the women’s championship game this evening, the winners will be introduced on the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center floor.
The Bill Lee Memorial Scholarship was established by the Greensboro Sports Council following Lee’s death in 2001. Lee was a Greensboro native and resident who was a major supporter of local sports. He was deeply involved with Greensboro’s minor league baseball efforts, basketball and golf. Recipients are nominated by the schools participating in the Pizza Hut Invitational presented by NewBridge Bank each year, and the Greensboro Sports Council awards the scholarships. Each nomination is considered with the following criteria: 40% academic, 40% athletic and 20% civic. Four student-athletes receive a scholarship each year; the following winners bring the total number of scholarships awarded to 40.
Bryson Fonville, from Page High School, is a two-year varsity basketball team captain and two-year member of the National Honor Society, and he was named best Spanish student last year. He won the 2011 AP Scholar award and is considering a career in business management, sport management or physical therapy. He is planning to attend Catholic University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro or Wake Forest University.
Roxanne Henshall, from Grimsley High School, achieved academic excellence with special honors in 2008 through 2010, and she achieved academic excellence with highest distinction last year. An all-conference basketball player, she is considering a career as an international business manager, a lawyer or a teacher. She plans to attend the University of Virginia, Wake Forest University or the University of South Carolina.
Representing Northwest Guilford High School, Victoria McGee is a four-year varsity basketball player and current team captain; she is currently ranked eighth in her class of 456 with a four-year cumulative grade point average of 5.088. She was named to the National Honor Society for the last two years and received the Honors Biology award in 2009. She is considering a career as an Oncologist or a Nurse Anesthetist. She plans to attend Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or Wake Forest University.
Ragsdale High School’s Emma Sonnicker has played varsity basketball and volleyball for four years as well as lacrosse for three seasons. She has been honored as a scholar athlete since 2009 and on the honor roll since 2008 and was nominated for the Morehead Cain Scholarship. She is uncertain about possible career choices but plans to attend college at Elon University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or Davison College.
The Pizza Hut Invitational presented by NewBridge Bank is an annual high school basketball tournament in Greensboro, N.C. Founded in 1976 as the Little 4 Invitational, the tournament features men’s and women’s teams representing eight Guilford County high schools playing at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. Tournament proceeds are donated to local charities and the participating schools; the Pizza Hut Invitational is planned and implemented by the Greensboro Sports Council.