Whitewater High School student athletes honored in Philadelphia

Only three female soccer players from Georgia out of 37 female recipients nationwide were selected to the prestigious 2009 NSCAA/Adidas High School Scholar All-America Soccer Team. From left are Whitewater’s Morganne Grimes, Jewelia Strickland, Erin Emerson and Coach Heather Allen. Photo/Special.

Emerson, a forward, and defenders Grimes and Strickland were among the best of the best. The Whitewater Soccer program has tremendous talent and the Lady Wildcats have been highly ranked since Whitewater’s inception. They hold the 2007 AAAA State Champion title and were state runner-up in 2009. In addition, to excellence in high school soccer the players must be seniors who have a minimum 3.75 cumulative grade point average.  The committee evaluates the players’ academic and athletic information as well as involvement with their communities. 

The award ceremony was held on Jan. 16 at the 63rd annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention.  All three girls will be playing soccer in college: Grimes at Mississippi State, Strickland at the University of Alabama and Emerson at Ole Miss. Emerson has scored 94 goals during her high school career; in addition, she was named to the All South-Region All-American Team.