MHS students named to Academic All-State teams
Jun 13, 2024 12:15PM ● By Liisa London Mecham
Lindsay Birt earned two Academic All-State Awards in sports – track and cross country – and a third in instrumental music. Birt was a part of two state championship teams: cross country and track.
Ashlyn Noss won three Academic All-State awards this year: soccer, basketball and golf. During high school, she was a part of four state championship teams. Photos by Academic All-State Recipients
During the last month of school, Morgan High athletes who participated in spring sports and activities were named to their sport’s or activity’s respective Academic All-State teams. Each student-athlete was recognized with a certificate from the Utah High School Activities Association and The Deseret News. UHSAA Executive Director Ryan Cuff stated, “With over 100,000 students participating in high school activities, this award is the most prestigious honor the UHSAA presents to senior students.”
Students who earn this award must be seniors and have a 4.0 unweighted GPA or index score that combines GPA and ACT/SAT scores to qualify. Athletes from each sport or activity who meet the requirements are named to the All-State team for the sport or activity and classification.
In addition to the 16 athletes who were named Academic All-State for their participation in spring sports, seven students were awarded Academic All-State for Performing Arts Activities: Speech and Debate, Vocal Music, Instrumental Music, and Theater.
Two Morgan athletes, Lindsay Birt and Ashlyn Noss, earned three Academic All-State distinctions throughout the year. In the fall, Birt received the award for cross country, and this spring, she earned it in track and for instrumental music. Noss earned an Academic All-State Award each season: fall (soccer), winter (basketball), and spring (golf).
Birt plans to attend BYU Idaho this fall and explore future careers as she takes general classes before serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“I am happy that I was able to get the Academic All-State Award three times because it just shows that all of the work that I put in throughout high school really paid off!” Birt said.
Birt won a state championship in cross country in 2020 and track and field in 2023. In addition, she plays the flute and two of her favorite songs she played were “Me” and “El Palomino.”
She said that it was “definitely hard balancing athletics/activities and academics,” and she worked really hard to get her work done during the school day. “But,” she added, “there were a lot of late nights spent working on assignments after sporting events and work in order for me to get my assignments done in time.”
Noss, who will attend Brigham Young University in the fall and pursue a career in nursing, echoed Birt’s sentiments. “It was definitely hard some days to balance school and sports. There were a lot of late nights, but I knew I wanted to keep a 4.0 through high school, and I knew I wanted to participate in sports, so I worked hard to accomplish both goals at the same time.”
Noss was a member of four state championship teams – soccer (2020), basketball (2021,2023), and golf (2023) – while earning her 4.0 GPA. She reports, “I am proud to have earned the Academic All-State award because it recognizes all the time and work I put in to get good grades in school while also participating in sports.”
After completing her freshman year at BYU, Noss also hopes to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Londyn Elmer, Preston Johnson, Gavin Olsen, Talmadge Sommers and Abby Titus each won two Academic All-State Awards during the 2023-204 school year (detailed coverage of these students will follow in the next two weeks). λ
