Oak Harbor High School seniors Allison Duvenez and Judd Ford took much different paths en route to sharing the 2010-2011 Athlete of the Year Award.

Duvenez focused on one thing, running, while Ford participated in a diverse group of sports: football, swimming and golf.

Both are also outstanding scholars, sporting grade point averages above 3.5.

As the No. 2 runner on the  cross country team, Duvenez helped the Wildcats to a school-best third-place finish in the state 3A meet last fall. Individually  she placed 13th in the league meet, eighth at district and 27th at state.

This spring Duvenez was named the OHHS track Athlete of the Year as she zipped to fifth in the 300 hurdles at state after capturing the league and district titles. She also placed in the 100 hurdles at league and district as well as running on the 4×400 relay team that finished second in league and third in district and qaulified for state.

She earned four varsity letters in both sports and qualified for state in the 300 hurdles three times. (She was injured last year and missed the meet.)

Cross country and track coach Eric Peterson said, “Allison is amazing, both as an athlete and a person. But more importantly than places, finishes and medals, Allison was a leader for the cross country and track teams. She was someone teammates and coaches could rely on…The coaching staff trusted her judgment and ability to watch over and be the big sister for the other athletes.”

Ford earned four varsity letters in golf, three in football and two in swimming.

This year in football he was Oak Harbor’s Defensive Player of the Year and captain, and he earned second-team all-Wesco honors as a linebacker for the second time.

Football coach Jay Turner said Ford was like “another coach on the field.” He added, “Judd was a leader for our team. He was the quarterback for our defense. If somebody was out of position Judd was smart enough to put them back into the correct position.”

In golf, Ford was an all-Wesco first-team selection this year and qualified for the state tournament. It was Ford’s second consecutive first-team honor and fourth trip to state.

Last month he placed second by one stroke in the Wesco 3A tournament and finished third at district.

Other Honors

Athlete of the Year wasn’t the only honor Duvenez earned. She and senior Sam Wolfe received the Cliff Gillies Award, and she and senior Jay Stout were selected for the U.S. Marine Corps Distinguished Athlete Award.

Senior Adrianna Royal and junior Michael Washington earned the Army Reserve National Scholar Athlete Award.

The Cliff Gillies Award is presented by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association to two athletes from each state school who exemplify scholarship, citizenship and athleticism. Wolfe was a second-team all-Wesco outfielder and honorable mention running back.

Stout was a three-time, all-Wesco first-team outfielder and honorable mention choice in basketball.

Royal, like Duvenez, helped the cross country team to third in state and then placed sixth in the state 800 and 12th in the 1,600 this spring.

Washington was a first-team all-league basketball player and honorable mention wide receiver.

All are honor students.