JOHN DAY — Grant County student athletes were among the best and brightest in the state this year.

With fall sports coming to a close, the Oregon School Activities Association has announced its season-ending awards, with area student-athletes bringing home a number of honors.

Grant Union’s boys and girls cross country teams both got nods for academic excellence, landing on the top 10 lists in their respective divisions.

The OnPoint Community Credit Union Academic All-State Program recognizes outstanding achievement in the classroom. Teams in OSAA-sanctioned events earn 25 points for their schools by getting a 3.0-grade point average or higher, with teams in the top 10 of their sports making additional points according to an established scoring system. Those points go toward the OSAA Cup, awarded at the end of the school year.

Grant Union’s boys cross country finished fifth in the 2A/1A division with a collective 3.47 GPA, while the girls’ squad placed ninth in the 3A/2A/1A division with an overall GPA of 3.78.

The Grant Union football team was recognized with a number of all-league selections in the Blue Mountain Conference.

Justin Hodge, a senior, was a first-team selection at running back, defensive back and punter. Parker Neault, a senior, made the second team as a defensive back. In addition, Tanler Fuller, a senior, received an honorable mention.

Rylan Cox, a senior, was named to the first-team offensive line, while Alex Finley, a sophomore, was named to the second team. Finley was also an honorable mention for the defensive line. Talon VanCleave, a sophomore, was named second-team linebacker, while Sheldon Lenz, a junior, was an honorable mention.

Maverick Miller, a senior, was named to the second team as a quarterback, while Fuller was named to the second team as a receiver. Neault received an honorable mention as a receiver.

Several members of the Prairie City volleyball team earned all-league selections in the High Desert League.

Betty Ann Wilson, a junior, made the league’s first team, while Laken McKay, a junior, earned a second-team nod and Hannah Wall and Jaycee Winegar were honorable mentions.

Prairie City’s football coach, Nick Thompson, was named Coach of the Year, while Cole Teel was named Offensive Player of the Year and first-team running back. Teel was also named to the second team as a kicker.

Prairie City’s Eli Wright made the first team on the offensive and defensive lines. Wes Voigt was named to the first team as a linebacker and second team as a quarterback. Meanwhile, Tucker Wright was an honorable mention as a running back and a second-team linebacker.

John Titus was named to the second team as a wide receiver, while Cody Reagan was named to the second team as an offensive lineman and Trey Brown was named to the second team as a defensive lineman. Doyal Lawrence was named to the second team as a returner.

Grant Union volleyball players Grace Taylor and Lauryn Pettyjohn were named to the Blue Mountain Conference first team. Paige Gerry, Carson Weaver and Drewsey Williams were named to the second team. Freshman Adeline Northway was an honorable mention.