For the 16th year, The Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame has selected 10 finalists for the 2023 Student Athlete of the Year Award.

Among the male and female finalists are Wiscasset’s Emily Gilliam and Boothbay’s Kayden Ames.

The finalists are chosen from nominations (two boys and two girls from each school) requested from from the athletic directors in the following Midcoast schools  - Camden Hills, Oceanside, Medomak Valley, Lincoln Academy, Boothbay,  Wiscasset, Islesboro, North Haven, and Vinalhaven.

The athletes must have had an outstanding year of accomplishments in their sport(s) and have also shown all of the attributes of a student athlete who is a person of high integrity, who demonstrates  leadership, and who is respected by their peers as well as their coaches and fans. The nominees are requested to send in additional information to the committee about their athletic accomplishments, involvement in their communities, and their reflections on the importance of sports in their lives.

All the finalists are invited to attend the annual Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame Banquet, Oct. 21 at the Rockland Elks Club, at which time, along with the adult inductees, they will receive recognition and the winners will be announced. Banquet tickets can be purchased through any Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame director or by contacting Dave Ames at damesref@tidewater.net. Tickets are $30 per person, with children 12 or young $20.

It is important to remember that all these athlete lives were greatly impacted and interrupted by COVID-19 restrictions for more than three years of their careers. Yet, they prevailed and participated where they could and continued to be involved in the sports that they loved. Congratulations to them all!

The 5 female finalists for 2023 are Emily Gilliam  (Wiscasset), Amelia Johnson (Camden Hills), Natalie Kaler (Lincoln Academy), Audrey Mackie (Oceanside), and Maddie Ripley (Oceanside). The five male Finalists for 2023 are Marshall Addy (Medomak Valley), Kayden Ames (Boothbay Region), Julian Henderson (Camden Hills), Gavin Ripley (Oceanside) and Isaac Simmons (Medomak Valley) These athletes have all excelled in a variety of sports including basketball, field hockey, sailing, softball, tennis, soccer, wrestling, football, cross country, track & field, and baseball.

Gilliam is an accomplished athlete in three sports - cross-country running, swimming, and track & field. In cross-country, Emily was part of the Wiscasset team the won the 2022 Mountain Valley Conference Championship, and she went on to qualify to run in the state meet in 2022. In swimming, Emily qualified for the state meet the last two years, competing in 200 medley, 100 backstroke, and  50 freestyle. In track & field , she competed in the Mountain Valley Conference Championships in 300 meter hurdles (6th place), 4 x 800 relay, 4 x4 00 relay, and 4 x 800 relay (first place). Emily qualified for states in these three relays with the 4 x 800 relay coming in 4th. At Wiscasset High School as a senior, Emily is a member of Student Council, is president of the National Honor Society, and represented Wiscasset at Dirigo State.

Ames is a second time finalist for this award and was an outstanding athlete in football, basketball, and track & field at Boothbay Region High School. In football, Kayden was Rookie of the Year for the Seahawks his freshman year, Offensive Player of the Year his junior year as well as being named to the Campbell Conference All-Conference Team. During his senior year, he was named MVP and Second Team All Star. Kayden played quarterback, running back, linebacker, and kicker. In basketball, Kayden was part of the team that won the Mountain Valley Conference Championship, and, in his junior year, he received an All-Conference MVC Honorable Mention and was the Seahawks Co-Captain. As a senior, Kayden was MVC Academic All Star, in the MVC Senior Game, co-MVP of his team, and finished second in the conference in assists per game for the season. In track and field, Kayden excelled in discus, placing 6th in the Class C State meet as a freshman, and as a junior Kayden was MVC Champion, 1st Team All-Star, and Class C State Champion. In shot put, he placed 3rd in the State as a freshman and was named to the MVC 2nd Team All-Star. As a senior, Kayden was MVC and Class C State Champion in Shot Put and in Discus, in which he broke a 20+ year old school record and recorded the 2nd farthest throw in the state. He is passionate about physical fitness and weight lifting, works at Hodgdon’s Boatyard, and volunteers at the Midcoast Animal Thrift Shop as well as officiating youth league basketball games, youth basketball camps, youth football games, and middle school track meets.