The Blue and Gold Awards Ceremony honored several athletes from the Upper Perkiomen High School last week. Kyra Lesko and Thomas Flud received the Outstanding Athlete awards during the May 31 ceremony in the high school auditorium. Mary Kate Sitko and Vincent Durrant each won the All-Around Athlete Award.

Thomas Flud and Kyra Lesko hold their Outstanding Athlete Awards.

            Lesko, a four-year starter on the soccer team, earned first-team all-Pioneer Athletic Conference honors. She was also named to the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches All-State Team. Lesko and Sitko helped lead the Indians to the PIAA Class 3A title game.

            Lesko will continue her soccer career at Division 2 Thomas Jefferson College, which is located in Philadelphia.

            Flud, a track and field athlete, placed third in the javelin at the PIAA Class 3A championship at Shippensburg University. He also won the District One Class 3A title and repeated as conference champion.

            As a junior, Flud earned a silver medal in the event at Districts. He finished seventh at States. Flud, who threw 199 feet, 2 inches on Senior Day, set a personal record at 202 feet and four inches at the PIAA Class 3A championship. He ended up less than six feet short of the current school record holder, Anthony O'Hara, a 1995 graduate.

            Flud will continue to throw the javelin at Hillsdale College, located in Michigan.

            Sitko scored 200 career lacrosse goal in just two seasons. Sitko, who played lacrosse all four years of high school, will continue her lacrosse career at Bloomsburg University.

           "I am thankful and honored to have won this award with Kyra Lesko," Sitko said. "We have played together as teammates, on the soccer and lacrosse teams together, and we have known each other our whole lives."

           On the lacrosse field, Sitko earned first-team all-PAC honors and scored more than 200 goals. She led the Tribe to consecutive District One Class 2A playoff appearances.

            Durrant currently holds the school record for the 400 meter dash. He placed 13th in the event in the District One Class 3A Championships.

            There was a significant difference this year from past years involving the awards. For the first time, the school handed out a Most Valuable Player award for girls volleyball. Sophomore Samantha Pedrick won it.

            Robert Kurzweg, the school's athletic director, also gave awards to several teams for having either record-breaking seasons or an impressive win streak during the season.

            He also recognized two retiring head coaches.

            Mike Freed led the girls soccer team for 14 seasons. During his most successful season, last fall, the Indians won the conference and district titles before reaching the state title game with an undefeated record. They lost 2-1 to Moon Area in the gold medal game in Mechanicsburg.

            Under Jamie Warren, the Tribe's soccer team reached the district title game five times, winning once. Twice, the team advanced to the second round of the PIAA Class 2A playoffs, most recently in 2019.