Maclay senior Kristin Sweeney was not just a stellar athlete for the Marauders, but she also was an outstanding student. Sweeney was recently awarded the FHSAA's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
Each high school nominated one male and one female who have played at least two sports and excelled in the classroom (unweighted 3.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale) for the award. Students were then asked to submit an essay along with an application. 
Twenty-four student-athletes were chosen for the FHSAA's Academic All-State Team. Of that group one male and one female were chosen as the Scholar Athletes of the Year. Sweeney says the essay part was one of her favorites and the whole process was a lot of fun.
"I got to write about what I would be if I had to be something from the kitchen and why. I heard in April that I had been named to the All Academic State Team along with 11 other females and 12 males. I was surprised but very honored. The FHSAA invited us to a banquet, so I had to fill out another application that they used to make some really nice programs for the banquet which was so well done! They announced each of us and talked a bit about us and then we each had two minutes to thank the people who had helped us throughout our lives. Obviously, this was impossible, but we all tried! Then, they announced the Scholar-athlete of the year."
Sweeney along with Simon Shuman of Cooper City were this years' winners. She was homeschooled for the first seven years before attending Maclay. Her older brother set the bar high academically and the youngster had always tried to follow in his example. The Maclay senior maintains a 4.0 grade point average and earned the distinction of Valedictorian. That strong committment to academic excellence gave her the motivation to work hard in the classroom. That dedication also parlayed well into athletics. At the age of ten she began swimming year round and over the course of her life has dabbled in every sport from basketball to soccer, tennis, dance, gymnastics. Sweeney placed in the top ten in cross country as well as the 1600 and 3200 meter runs at the FHSAA Outdoor State Finals. She says she's been able to succeed academically because she has been active athletically.
"If I didn't spend several hours running and swimming every day, I would have trouble focusing on school. I try to best at everything I do, and God has blessed me with the ability to train as hard as possible while juggling a rigorous academic schedule. Again, this award was extremely special because I have been working so hard in both academics and athletics during high school."
The next adventure will lead Sweeney to Houston, Texas where she will attend Rice University. She plans to major in Biomedical Engineering/Pre-Med as well as run track and cross country for the Owls. Twelve of the twenty-four athletes chosen for the All-Academic state team competed in either track and field or cross country.
Sweeney says that tells you a lot about runners and their committment to being the best in running and in the classroom.
"In order to be successful at distance running, you have to be VERY dedicated day in and day out. We all have to be self-motivated, extra dedicated, and focused. These qualities are key to excelling in the classroom. I think runners tend to be able to work efficiently at school, figure out what questions they need to ask, and perform well when necessary just like on the course or track."