Lynde added, “We’ve had a lot of coaches, though, and they pushed us to be the best we could be. They inspired us.”
“Coach [Gordon] Ray always tells us to work hard and never quit,” stated Gereg, “and not just on the baseball field. A “D” in class just isn’t acceptable. We had to get a “C” or better in every class to stay on the team!”
Augustine interrupted, “He’s a great guy; he told us that ‘you should always strive to be better than the guy next to you.’ He says, ‘Believe in the smaller things.’ He says it in Latin, so it sounds better, but that’s what it means. And I remind myself of that every day.”
“Coach [Mike] DeLaTorre is the same way,” added Henry. “If we didn’t accomplish what we set out to do during a game, we knew we’d be working on it in practice the next day.”
“Exactly,” said Lynde. “He taught us to work hard and never quit.”
Although all four students have grade point averages of 3.2 – 3.4, the focus on academic as well as athletic achievement has especially paid off for Lynde and Henry, who accepted academic/athletic scholarships at Central College in Pella, Iowa. The school does not offer
athletic scholarships alone. If a student doesn’t have the academic scores to support the athletic ability, Iowa isn’t interested. Lynde and Henry will be playing football for the school. Lynde plans to major in Animal Science, while Henry will be studying Computer Science.
Augustine will be majoring in Management Information Systems and Audio Engineering at FontBonne University in St. Louis, MO on a baseball scholarship. Gereg will be at AZ Western College in Yuma, AZ studying Physical Therapy, also on a baseball scholarship.
Shawnna Gereg, Shane’s mother, summed up the parent’s viewpoint very well, “Every time we do something as a family now, I think, ‘this is the last time we’ll all be here together for this.’ It’s bittersweet, but, as a parent, there’s nothing you want more than for your child to have a passion about something and to be able to continue that passion into adulthood. Even though it means he’s leaving home and moving halfway across the county, we couldn’t be more proud.”
Poston Butte’s first academic scholarship award night will be held in the main gym on Monday, May 7, at 7pm. Although the totals continue to grow, the graduating class has so far garnered $138,000 in scholarships.
