Five students earn double Academic All-State awards
Jun 20, 2024 09:30AM ● By Liisa London Mecham
Gavin Olsen competes at a Morgan track meet. Olsen was part of three track state championship teams during his MHS career. He won Academic All-State awards in Track and Cross Country.
Preston Johnson performs as Cosmo Brown in “Singing in the Rain.” Johnson won Academic All-State awards in Theater and Vocal Performance.
London Elmer stands on the podium at state track in May. She won two Academic All-State awards in Track and Theater. Photos by Academic All-State Recipient
As reported last week, twenty-three Academic All-State awards were earned by MHS students in the Spring. Two students, Lindsay Birt and Ashlyn Noss, received three awards over the course of the year (see June 14 edition). Five additional students earned the award twice this year. Londyn Elmer, Preston Johnson, Gavin Olsen, Talmadge Sommers and Abby Titus each won two Academic All-State Awards during the 2023-204 school year. In addition to sports, Academic All-State Awards are presented to students in the Performing Arts Activities: Speech Debate, Vocal Music, Instrumental Music and Theater.
An Academic All-State Award recipient in track and theater, Londyn Elmer, will attend Cornell University in the fall to study Biomedical Engineering. She also hopes to stay involved in theater by performing and possibly minoring in it.
Elmer was part of the 2023 Girls’ Track State Championship. She also performed in the plays Singing in the Rain, Newsies, and Little Women.
She thinks the “Academic All-State award is an incredible way to recognize individuals who excelled in both school and extracurriculars, which is something that is not recognized very often. Receiving this award confirmed to me that I can accomplish incredible things when I put my mind to it.”
When asked how she balanced sports, school, and activities, she candidly replied, “Honestly, I didn't balance them. There were a lot of late nights, early mornings, and bus naps. What got me through were the amazing people I had around me. My teams, casts, friends, family, coaches, teachers, and mentors supported me through everything, and they were always there to celebrate my highs and help me ride the lows.”
Preston Johnson was the only individual to win two Academic All-State Awards for Performing Arts. Johnson won in the categories of Theater and Vocal Music. Johnson was a member of Ovation Choir his senior year and lettered in Choir. He was a member of the theater department all four years and lettered in it as well.
Johnson has been in five musicals and two plays during his high school career: “Freaky Friday” as Fletcher; “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” as the Preacher; “Newsies” as Pulitzer; “Little Women” as John Brooks; and “Singin’ in the Rain” as Cosmo. He was also in “You Can't Take It with You” and “Mouse Trap.”
Johnson is continuing to develop and share his skills. He is currently in rehearsals with Mountain Green Musical Theatre for “Twelve Dancing Princess.”
He plans to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After his mission, he plans to attend Weber State University.
Gavin Olsen, who received the Academic All-State Award for track and cross country, shared, “I am proud to earn this award because I worked extremely hard for it, and it feels good to see my hard work pay off. It takes a lot of time and effort to make the varsity team in any sport, but excelling in academics on top of that makes it much more difficult. This often goes unnoticed by others, so getting some recognition for my efforts feels great.”
He explained how he balanced his sports and academics. “During this past Track and XC seasons, school and sports were always my top two priorities. I worked really hard during the school day to ensure my grades were up to par and after school I worked my hardest as well.”
“I was always worn out by the end of practice, but I knew it was worth it. It was not easy, especially doing it for multiple sports seasons, but it earned me a place on the Academic All-State teams for Cross Country and Track. Excelling academically earned me a Presidential Scholarship to Utah State University, which makes college affordable. I have made many fun memories while at Morgan High both in the classroom and with running.”
Olsen will attend Utah State for a year before serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When he returns, he plans to finish his bachelor’s degree and pursue a master’s degree in either biology or neuroscience. He hopes to someday get married and start a family.
Olsen was part of the three state championship track teams: 2021, 2023, and 2024. λ
