Thursday, May 12, 2016
The Livermore-Granada Boosters were organized in 1949 by a group of former Livermore High School athletes, former students, and civic-minded businessmen to foster and stimulate scholarship and athletics in the community high school. This group felt that good students, active in athletics, were a nucleus of future good citizens, with qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, and competitive spirit.In 1958, the Boosters instituted the Olympian Award to honor male scholar-athletes from Livermore High School. In 1966, the award was expanded to include newly opened Granada High School. Since 1979, the Livermore-Granada Boosters honor one male and one female scholar-athlete from each high school with the Olympian Award.
MEGAN MCCANDLESS - Megan, Granada High School senior, earned a weighted GPA of 4.46. She earned eight varsity letters in cross-country and track. In cross-country she is a 2-time EBAL champion and course record holder, a 2-time NCS Division II champion and took second at the CIF site cross country championships in 2015, and took 18th at the NIKE cross country nationals. In track, she is a 3-time NCS medalists and state qualifier. She has earned an AP Scholar with Distinction and President of the Robotics Club. Megan plans to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology majoring in Mechanical Engineering.
KAJOL MAHESWARI – Kajol is a senior at Livermore High School with a weighted GPA of 4.44. She has earned eight varsity letters in cross-country and track and one in soccer. Kajol made first team ALL-EBAL in cross-country placed 7th at NCS and is a 2-time State meet qualifier. In track, she has qualified for the NCS Meet of Champions. She was team captain in cross-country and track and was voted MVP distance runner. She has and received numerous academic awards in language, math, English and social science, AP Scholar with Distinction, and National Merit Program: Commended. Kajol will continue her running career at West Point and plans to major in Pre-Med.
Each of the 4 winners receives a $2,000 scholarship, and each of the six finalists receives a $500 scholarship. All eight finalists receive an Olympian Finalist Award Plaque.
Team award plaques are presented to the outstanding male and female athlete leaders on each varsity team. They are selected by fellow team members.
This year the Olympian Scholarship Awards banquet will be held at the Robert Livermore Community Center on May 16. More information on the banquet, as well as photos and video of sports are available at www.livermoregranadaboosters.org
The following are this year's finalists:
TAYLOR LAWSEN - Taylor is a Granada High School senior with a weighted GPA of 4.26. She earned eight varsity letters playing cross-country and track at Granada. Taylor has earned All-EBAL First or second team honors in cross-country all four years. She was NCS All-section in her senior year. In track she has been a 3-time NCS Meet of Champions finalist. She was team captain on her cross country and track teams. Taylor has served as Vice President of the California Scholarship Federation Club; She is a scholar athlete all four years and an AP scholar with honors for European and US History, Spanish and literature. Taylor plans to attend Biola University and major in English.
MEGAN MCCANDLESS - Megan, Granada High School senior, earned a weighted GPA of 4.46. She earned eight varsity letters in cross-country and track. In cross-country she is a 2-time EBAL champion and course record holder, a 2-time NCS Division II champion and took second at the CIF site cross country championships in 2015, and took 18th at the NIKE cross country nationals. In track, she is a 3-time NCS medalists and state qualifier. She has earned an AP Scholar with Distinction and President of the Robotics Club. Megan plans to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology majoring in Mechanical Engineering.
MARIANA GARZA - Mariana, a senior at Livermore High School, has a weighted GPA of 4.23. She has earned four varsity letters in basketball and three varsity blocks in track. In basketball, she has been a 2-time team captain and won the Cowboy Award in 2016. In track, she was MVP thrower in 2015. Mariana has earned AP academic awards in English, academic department awards for biology, chemistry and algebra, and has served as ASB Vice President and Attorney General. Mariana plans to attend University of Wisconsin and major in Microbiology.
KAJOL MAHESWARI – Kajol is a senior at Livermore High School with a weighted GPA of 4.44. She has earned eight varsity letters in cross-country and track and one in soccer. Kajol made first team ALL-EBAL in cross-country placed 7th at NCS and is a 2-time State meet qualifier. In track, she has qualified for the NCS Meet of Champions. She was team captain in cross-country and track and was voted MVP distance runner. She has and received numerous academic awards in language, math, English and social science, AP Scholar with Distinction, and National Merit Program: Commended. Kajol will continue her running career at West Point and plans to major in Pre-Med.
MARTIN VEGA - Martin is a Livermore High School senior with a weighted GPA of 4.26. Martin earned six varsity letters in football, track, soccer and volleyball. He earned All-EBAL Honorable Mention in football as place-kicker and has been a scholar athlete in football, track and soccer. Martin has earned numerous awards including Horatio Alger National Scholar, Rotary Student of the Month, Youth Leadership award and Teacher recognition awards in French, math and science. Martin plans to attend UC Davis and major in Mechanical Engineering.
LEO SKELLENGER - Leo is a senior at Granada High School with a weighted GPA of 3.08. He has earned seven varsity letters in cross-country and track. Leo was the EBAL cross-country champion in 2015 and selected First Team All League and NCS First Team. He is a four-time NCS participant and two-time state meet qualifier. In track, he is a two-time NCS participant. He has earned NCS scholar athlete status and has been selected team captain for cross-country and track. Leo plans to attend Cal State East Bay and major in Business and Kinesiology.