By STAFF REPORT
A couple of local student-athletes are among the 12 seniors to receive the 2025 IHSAA/C. Eugene Cato Memorial Scholarships, the Indiana High School Athletic Association announced last week.
The recipients include Greenwood Community’s Makena Cruse and Perry Meridian’s Colton Phillips.
Each student completed and submitted a formal application and had to meet certain criteria to qualify including: 1) be enrolled and participating in interscholastic athletics at an IHSAA member school during this school year; 2) be a senior at an IHSAA member school who will graduate this school year; 3) win a varsity letter as an athlete in at least one of the 22 IHSAA-sanctioned athletic programs; 4) be nominated by the school’s principal or athletic director; 5) carry a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale or the equivalent and; 6) have no violations of the school’s athletic code of conduct, according to a press release.
“These well-rounded, positive role models have demonstrated excellence in academics, school and community involvement, character, sportsmanship, and citizenship,” ISHAA said in the release.
To reward the efforts of Indiana’s complete student athletes, Forté Sports Medicine, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, Indianapolis Colts, Indiana Fever, Indiana Pacers, and Sport Graphics, Inc., have all partnered with the IHSAA and the IHSAA Foundation to sponsor the program.
Cruse is a three-sport athlete, earning four varsity letters in soccer, three in track and field and two in Cross Country, according to her biography. She’s been named All-Conference in Track and Field, as well as Academic All-State in Track and Field and Soccer. In the classroom, Makena has maintained a weighted GPA of 4.26. She is the Vice President of her senior class, Editor-in-Chief of Greenwood’s school newspaper, and a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Cruse also serves as President of the IHSAA Student Advisory Committee, where she assists with IHSAA State Finals events throughout the year and serves as an ambassador to student-athletes throughout the state. Additionally, she volunteers her time fundraising for charities like Donate Life Organization and Walk2EndAlz, has worked as a camp counselor and teaching assistant during the summer, and is an active member of her church. She will be attending Indiana Wesleyan University in the fall.
Phillips ranks first in his class of 549 students, earning a 4.6 weighted GPA, according to his biography. He is a two-time varsity letter winner in Basketball, earning Academic All-State honors and serving as the team’s captain during his senior season. Colton is a member of Perry Meridian’s Student Council, Link Crew, National Honor Society, and works as an Anchor/Tech Member/Producer for Falcon TV. He volunteers his time coaching youth basketball throughout the year and running camps in the summer, assists at the Willow Pond Elderly Neighborhood, and Page 5 of 6 helps with various events and camps at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School and Abraham Lincoln Elementary School. Colton will be attending Michigan State University in the fall.
Each individual will receive a $2,500 scholarship for their prep accomplishments and be recognized at this year’s inaugural IHSAA Foundation Impact Awards at Gridiron Hall, within the Indianapolis Colts Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center on Thursday, April 17.
The scholarship program is named in tribute to the late Commissioner C. Eugene Cato who led the IHSAA from 1983 to 1995 and served as assistant commissioner from 1976 to 1983, according to the press release. “Gene’s” passion for athletics and his belief in the intrinsic value of athletic competition on the formation of a child’s character enabled Gene to positively impact generations of young men and women with his well-known “Firm, Fair, and Friendly” approach to caring for others. He passed away in 2008.
Other recipients include Marion’s Nathaniel Beck, Manchester’s Addison Brubaker, Jennings County’s Claire Hack, Plymouth’s Lena Jones, North Harrison’s Jace Martin, Maconaquah’s Kevin Nord, Indianapolis Shortridge’s Isabella Sellers, Lake Central’s Evan Smith, Barr-Reeve’s Seth Wagler, and Avon’s Adelyn Wyndham.
