Seventh Annual Clary Medal Winners named for NCHSAA

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CHAPEL HILL – Nancy Ford of Smoky Mountain High School and Maddox Stamey of East Rutherford High School are the recipients of the seventh annual Clary Medals awarded by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.             

The two outstanding student-athletes will be recognized at the NCHSAA’s Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 3, at the Dean E. Smith Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Clary Medal is made possible through the generosity of the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation through the NCHSAA Endowment. It annually recognizes an outstanding male and female student-athlete, who will each receive a $2,000 scholarship to further his or her education at the college level.

To be eligible for the award, a student must be a senior at an NCHSAA member school, participate on at least two athletic teams, maintain at least a 3.2 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale, and demonstrate excellence in athletic participation, extra-curricular activities and community service.

Ford has been an excellent three-sport athlete at Smoky Mountain, competing in soccer, cross country and outdoor track and lettering three times in cross country and outdoor track. She set a couple of school records in track last year and was a conference champion in cross country, setting course records on three different occasions.              

She has excelled academically while serving on the Student Council, in the National Honors Society, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She has been very active at Webster Baptist Church and has been on mission trips to West Virginia and Nicaragua.  Ford plans to continue her education at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C.

Stamey has played four sports during his East Rutherford career, including four years of football and basketball to go with track and golf.  He is a two-time Most Valuable Player of the East football team, serving as its captain and quarterback, and is a two-time all South Mountain Athletic Conference selection in both football and basketball. East won the NCHSAA state 2-A men's basketball crown in 2011.               

The East Rutherford student body president and an outstanding student, Stamey is a member of the National Honor Society as well as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.  He has gone on several mission trips through Bethany Baptist Church and has participated for two years in a reading program with a nearby elementary school. He will enroll at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this fall.                 

The award is in memory of Wilburn Columbus Clary, a member of the NCHSAA Hall of Fame who was an outstanding coach and game official. He served as the executive secretary of the old Western North Carolina High School Activities Association from 1948 through 1977, when its schools joined the NCHSAA. Clary was also the first collegiate football official to be inducted into the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

“Both of these award winners are exemplary citizens and student-athletes,” said Davis Whitfield, NCHSAA commissioner. “Nancy and Maddox are outstanding selections for the Clary Medals, one of the top awards the NCHSAA can present to a student.”