NIAA to honor top student-athletes

The NIAA honors 10 Southern Nevada student-athletes each year for their performances in the classroom as well as in athletics.

The winners receive a $500 scholarship along with a souvenir portrait.

Following are this year’s honorees:

Elizabeth Bellinger, Palo Verde — She earned four letters in flag football and four in track and field while compiling a weighted 4.72 GPA.

Bellinger ranks 19th out of 736 students in her class. She helped the Panthers to two Northwest League flag football titles and two Sunset Region runner-up finishes.

Bellinger will attend UNR where she plans to major in sports psychology.

Dillon Darrow, Needles — Darrow earned 10 varsity letters in three sports: four in baseball, three in football and three in basketball.

He is No. 1 in a class of 52 and carries a 4.42 weighted GPA. Darrow was named the basketball team’s Most Valuable Player this past season, and made the Class 2A all-state first team as selected by the coaches.

In baseball, Darrow was a second-team Class 2A All-Southern League pick as a junior and was the team’s Pitcher of the Year.

Darrow will attend Cal State San Bernardino where he plans to major in biology.

Katherine Dimaya, Silverado — Dimaya will attend UNR where she plans to study to be a nurse anesthetist.

She earned nine varsity letters in six sports (cross country, golf, volleyball, flag football, softball and track). She was selected her team’s overall or offensive Most Valuable Player six times in four sports.

Dimaya is ranked fourth in a class of 545 with a 4.78 weighted GPA.

Heather Holman, Eldorado — She is a four-year varsity letter winner in tennis, bowling and softball.

In tennis, Holman was a four-time qualifier for the Sunrise Region doubles tournament. In bowling, she was a four-time qualifier for the individual region tournament, and helped lead the Sundevils to the Northeast League title as a junior and senior.

In softball, Holman was a second-team All-Sunrise Region selection as a sophomore, and made honorable mention as a junior.

She is ranked second in a class of 413 with a 4.73 weighted GPA, and will attend Southern Utah where she plans to major in kinesiology.

Kendall Larson, Faith Lutheran — Larson earned 11 letters in three sports: four in cross country, four in track and three in basketball.

She helped the Crusaders to the Class 3A Southern Region championship in 2016 as well as a pair of league titles in cross country. She was named the team’s Most Valuable Performer three times.

In track, she won region titles in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs as a freshman, and was named the team’s most valuable performer as a sophomore.

Larson helped the Crusaders capture the Class 3A state basketball championship in 2016.

She carries a 4.22 weighted GPA and is ranked 29th in a class of 232.

Markell Ludvigson, Virgin Valley — She earned 10 varsity letters in four sports: four in flag football, three in track, two in volleyball and one in swimming.

She helped the Bulldogs reach the Class 3A state tournament in volleyball in the fall, and was selected to the coaches all-state team in flag football as a junior and senior.

After competing in track for her first three years, Ludvigson switched to swimming this spring.

She is ranked No. 1 in a class of 171 with a weighted 4.8 GPA. She will attend Dixie State, and plans to work toward a degree in dental hygiene.

Craig Moore, Pahrump Valley — Moore earned six varsity letters in four sports (cross country, soccer, wrestling and golf).

He was named the golf team’s Most Improved Player as a sophomore, and made the Class 3A All-Southern Region team as a junior.

Moore is ranked third in a class of 245 with a 4.98 weighted GPA. He will attend UNR and plans to major in biochemistry or materials science engineering.

Bryce Odegard, Pahrump Valley — He earned 11 varsity letters in three sports: four in cross country, four in track and three in basketball.

He was the cross country team’s Most Valuable Runner all four years, and won the region individual titles as a junior and senior.

Odegard was the basketball team’s co-Most Valuable Player as a sophomore, junior and senior, and made the All-Southern Region team as a senior.

In track, Odegard was named the team’s Most Valuable Runner in his first three seasons, and was the 3A state runner-up in the 800 and 1,600 as a junior.

He has a 4.15 weighted GPA and is ranked 30th in a class of 245. He will run track and cross country at the College of Idaho, and plans to major in environmental studies.

Douglas Reese, Boulder City — Reese earned four varsity letters in wrestling and three in baseball.

He was a state runner-up in wrestling as a junior and a senior, and led the Eagles to back-to-back Southern Region team championships.

In baseball, he helped Boulder City to Southern Region and Class 3A state titles as a sophomore and a junior. He was a 3A all-state selection by the coaches as a junior.

Reese is ranked eighth in a class of 150 with a 4.62 weighted GPA.

Nickolai Zuppas, Palo Verde — Zuppas earned two varsity letters in football and two in baseball.

He was the starting quarterback and team captain in football as a senior. In baseball, he is a two-year starter and one of the team’s top pitchers this spring.

Zuppas is ranked No. 1 in a class of 736 with a weighted 4.8 GPA.