The North Carolina High School Athletic Association held its Annual Awards Ceremony Wednesday, honoring the statewide award winners and scholarship recipients for the 2023-24 school year.
The awards ceremony was held at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center. The NCHSAA released the award winners Thursday. Chatham County athletes received honors for their accomplishments this season. Here’s a look at local NCHSAA award winners:
Seaforth High School – 2A Wells Fargo Cup
Seaforth High School won the 2A Wells Fargo Cup for the 2023-24 academic year. The award recognizes the high schools that achieve the best overall interscholastic athletic performance in each of the state’s four classifications. The Hawks won 13 team and individual state championships this year. Seaforth won team state titles for wrestling (individual team title), boys’ golf and girls’ soccer. Individual state champions included Ty Willoughby (golf), Josh Miller (wrestling, 120 pounds), Layne Armstrong (wrestling, 126 pounds), Sydney Burleigh (swimming), Jack Anstrom (cross country, indoor track and outdoor track) and Will Cuicchi (indoor track and outdoor track). Burleigh won the school’s first state championship in a girls’ sport after winning the girls’ 100-yard butterfly. After winning his second cross country title in the fall, Anstrom won the boys’ indoor 3,200 meter run and the boys’ outdoor 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs. Cuicchi won his second straight boys’ indoor 1,000-meter and the boys’ outdoor 800-meter.
Mackenzie Crossman (Chatham Charter) – Alford Family Golf Scholarship
Chatham Charter’s Mackenzie Crossman was the female recipient of the Alford Family Golf Scholarship. This is the second awarding of the scholarship. The NCHSAA requires that recipients display leadership qualities, including sportsmanship as a player and integrity as a person and continue their educational and athletic career at the next level. Crossman earned Central Tar Heel 1A Conference golfer of the year honors in all four years of her high school career and won a regional title in 2023. She finished in the top 10 at the 1A/2A state championships in all four years of her career, too. Crossman also volunteered in high school, working as a scorekeeper at different golf events and serving the community as a talent show planner, tutor and summer program and vacation bible school helper. Crossman will play golf and study exercise science at Barton College.
Kelsey Hussey (Chatham Central) – NCHSAA Scholar Award
Chatham Central’s Kelsey Hussey was one of four North Carolina athletes to receive the NCHSAA Scholar Award, a one-time $2,500 scholarship. The award requires recipients to be graduating student athletes who have played on a varsity sanctioned sports team for at least two years with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Hussey played basketball, softball and volleyball with the Bears, earning all-conference honors in softball and two all-conference honors in volleyball. She holds the Chatham Central school record for career assists in volleyball. In her high school career, Hussey was heavily involved in school clubs, and she was the student representative for the My Future NC 2024 video campaign. Outside of school, she spends time as a volunteer for her church and community. Hussey will play volleyball and study psychology and criminal justice at Pfeiffer University.
