2 scholar athletes awarded scholarships

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - The school year is ending and it's time to honor all of our scholar athletes from this year.

All year long, we have honored western New York's best high school scholar-athletes. On Wednesday, we gathered the best and the brightest and shined the light on them.

16 monthly scholar-athlete award winners gathered for Channel 4's annual awards banquet. There were swimmers, hockey players, lacrosse stars and track athletes from as far away as Allegany-Limestone and as close as Buffalo. Each were honored for their academic and athletic achievements. The program's sponsor, Milk for Heath, was also honored for their 19 years of support.

The highlight of the day was the two scholar athletes of the year. Ashley Fields and Zach Lauricella are both academic standouts, and elite athletes.

Fields is a track athlete from Amherst High School who also has a 4.05 grade point average. A state record holder and national Junior Olympics champion, she'll run track at Baylor University, one of the country's top teams.

Lauricella helped Clarence High School become Section VI championships in football and baseball, while maintaining a 97 average. He will play baseball at St. John's University.

Both win $1,500 scholarships. Congratulations to all 16 of our winners for their hard work and their inspiration to kids all over western New York.