APRIL
2021 KHSAA-KDA Ag Athletes of the Year announced
Ag Commissioner honors winners at Sweet 16 tournament
FRANKFORT (April 5, 2021) – Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Ryan Quarles applauded six Kentucky high school student-athletes involved in agriculture for being named the 2021 Kentucky High School Athletic Association-Kentucky Department of Agriculture Ag Athletes of the Year.
“Athletics and agriculture have a lot in common. They both teach the value of effort, discipline, and teamwork,” Commissioner Quarles said. “We are pleased to join our partners at the KHSAA to reward the Commonwealth’s best young athletes and agriculturists. It’s no secret that it is expensive to get a postsecondary education. Whether these students pursue their dreams at a four-year institution or at a vocational school, these scholarships will help offset the rising costs of continued education.”
The 2021 Ag Athletes of the Year were named at a ceremony during the KHSAA Boys’ Sweet Sixteen® State Basketball Tournament on April 2 at Rupp Arena in Lexington. Two $2,000 scholarships and four $1,000 scholarships were awarded. The honorees are:
- Outstanding Ag Athlete of the Year: Austin Randolph, Muhlenberg County ($2,000)
- Outstanding Ag Athlete of the Year: Annika Reed, Metcalfe County ($2,000)
- Cody Anderson, Owen County
- Madyson Planck, Nicholas County
- Charles Murphy, Fulton County
- Lynne Tormoehlen, Washington County
Thirty-two student-athletes, 22 females and 10 males, applied for the 2021 Ag Athlete Awards, and a committee selected the winners. The one-time scholarships, payable to an institution of higher learning, are awarded to high school seniors involved in athletics and agriculture who plan on continuing their education at a two- or four-year institution or trade school.
The scholarships are supported by the “Ag Tag” Fund, which is financed by voluntary donations from Kentucky motorists when they buy or renew their farm vehicle license plates. Last year, Kentucky farmers donated nearly $612,000 to the Ag Tag Program. The scholarships are just one way the funds are used to support Kentucky’s agriculture youth.