By Lee Davis
Tucker Wilson has achieved a lot in his four years at Homewood, but perhaps he never expected to be where he was on April 11.
Wilson, a cross-country and track star for the Patriots, was named as an overall winner at the 31st annual Bryant-Jordan Student Athlete Awards Banquet. He was chosen as the recipient of the Larry D. Striplin Jr. Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award.
The scholarship program – named in honor of college football coaching giants Paul “Bear” Bryant of the University of Alabama and Ralph “Shug” Jordan of Auburn University – recognized 104 high school regional senior honorees and awarded them more than $300,000 in scholarships.
Additionally, Mountain Brook volleyball standout Sara Chandler Mitchell was named region winner for Class 7A’s District Three.
Wilson is ranked fourth in his class of 229 with a 4.39 weighted grade point average on a 4.0 scale and scored a perfect 36 on his ACT college entrance test.
That perfect score on the ACT came almost by surprise. “I was prepared for it, but I was basically taking it to see how I stacked up the first time,” he explained. “I expected to take it more than once.”
In the classroom, Wilson is a National Merit Semifinalist, an AP Scholar with Distinction, a member of the Beta Club, the National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Beta. An outstanding mathematics student, Wilson helped the Patriot math team to a third place finish in the 2014 state tournament.
On the running track, he helped lead Homewood to four consecutive cross-country state championships, three indoor titles and an outdoor crown in 2014. He was part of two state championship 4-x-400 meter relay teams, and he qualified for the state outdoor meet in the 4-x-400 relay, 400-meter dash and 400-meter intermediate hurdles.
In the Homewood Marching Band, Wilson is the section leader for the saxophone section.
He plans to study chemical or computer engineering in college. He has narrowed his choices to the University of Michigan, the University of Virginia or Auburn University.
“I’m eternally grateful for those who have believed in me even when I didn’t always believe in myself,” Wilson said.
Mitchell’s Region Win
Mountain Brook’s Mitchell was the setter for the Spartan volleyball team for four years and led Mountain Brook to two consecutive state volleyball titles. She was team captain and holds the school record for career and single-season assists.
Away from the court, Mitchell has a GPA of 4.56 and scored a 34 on her ACT. She belongs to the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta and the Spanish Honor Society. Mitchell is a National Merit Semifinalist and president of the Interact Service Club.
She plans to attend the University of Virginia and major in biology. Mitchell said she never had a problem balancing academics with athletics, community service and a social life.
“School was always a priority,” she explained. “But what really helped in athletics was the support of the community. Mountain Brook is really a place where they embrace student-athletes and try to help them as much as possible.”
Mitchell said she understood the significance of the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship program from an early age.
“I grew up going to Alabama football games,” she said, laughing. “So I knew all about Coach Bryant.”
And soon the world may know all about Tucker Wilson and Sara Chandler Mitchell.