Gulf Coast's Paula Gomes wins 2018 Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete Award
Greg Hardwig
Paula Gomes came to America when she was 8, with her family looking for an opportunity.
She will leave finishing in the top five of her class at her school, and with a chance to run track and possibly cross country at the University of Chicago.
And she will leave as only the second Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete Award winner ever from Gulf Coast High School.
Gomes was named the winner at the 29th annual Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete Award banquet, held for the first time at Artis—Naples, on Thursday night. She joins football player Lee Campbell, who won the award in 2006.
"It is surreal," Gomes said. "It's truly beyond words. I'm so excited. I did not expect that.
"At first, I was like, 'Are you sure you heard 'Paula'?' These athletes are incredible. I was just listening to their intros, it's just amazing what they accomplished, so to be chosen among them is absolutely amazing."
Two-time U.S. Open champion and golf TV analyst Curtis Strange, a part-time Naples resident, was the keynote speaker, following Gary Danielson. Strange challenged the finalists to be ready for their next chapter and to show heart and guts and a belief in themselves.
Gomes' win for Gulf Coast snaps a 10-year stretch where the winner was from Barron Collier, Community School or Naples -- including 2008 when the award was shared by a Barron and Naples High student-athlete, the only time there have been co-winners.
"To grow up as a little girl in Brazil and then coming here and that I would be here tonight, it's crazy," said Gomes, who thanked her parents, sister, teachers and coaches among others. "It's truly incredible. It's an honor to be chosen to represent my school as a Winged Foot finalist."
There were five former winners -- Lynn Miller (1995), Ethan Altaratz (1996), Shannon McGregor (2001), Ingrid Schumacher-Kelly (2004) and Ryan Celano (2014) -- in attendance.
Danielson did a brief interview with Schumacher-Kelly in a new twist to the ceremony.
The Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete Foundation gave $5,000 to each of its finalists. Gomes receives a $10,000 scholarship — $2,500 a year for four years; the other finalists receive one-time stipends.
Graduating seniors from Collier County high schools were eligible for the award, which was created in 1990 by the Collier Athletic Club.
This year’s other Winged Foot finalists, in alphabetical order, were:
Haleigh Magruder, Palmetto Ridge
Christopher Murphy, Community School of Naples
Andrew Myers, St. John Neumann
Adrian Pascotto, Barron Collier
Skyler Sieber, Seacrest Country Day
Joe Sparacio, First Baptist Academy
Olivia Watt, Marco Island Academy
Each candidate was required to complete an extensive application process in order to be considered by their respective schools.
Each school then determined its representative.
On April 30, the Winged Foot Selection Committee met and conducted informal interviews with each candidate. The committee then made its final decision, which was announced at the banquet.
More:PrepZone: Barron Collier's Emily Browne wins Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete Award
Emily Browne of Barron Collier was the 2017 recipient.
Major sponsors of the banquet include Barron Collier Jr. Foundation Inc., Iberiabank, Grant Fridkin Pearson, PA, Dr. Charles Karpas, Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, The Lutgert Companies and Gallagher Lutgert Insurance.
Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete Award
Winners
1990 — Terry Dean, Barron Collier
1991 — Rich Hill, Barron Collier
1992 — Danny Bond, Naples
1993 — Ryan Krzykowski, Lely
1994 — Jean Bonnici , Naples
1995 — Lynn Miller, Naples
1996 — Ethan Altaratz, Naples
1997 — Jacki Haar, Lely
1998 — Carissa Johnson, Immokalee
1999 — Kelly Roloff, Barron Collier
2000 — Lars Grimm, Community School
2001 — Shannon McGregor, St. John Neumann
2002 — Eric Beights, Lely
2003 — Alyssa Van Gemert, Barron Collier
2004 — Ingrid Schumacher, Naples
2005 — Wiselet Rouzard, Immokalee
2006 — Lee Campbell, Gulf Coast
2007 — Samantha Milne, Palmetto Ridge
2008 — Kelsey Assarian, Barron Collier; Jack Swanson, Naples
2009 — Taylor Burfield, Community School
2010 — Ryan Iamurri, Naples
2011 — A.J. Prokop-Ervin, Naples
2012 — Brett Clark, Barron Collier
2013 — Danielle Avery, Naples
2014 — Ryan Celano, Community School
2015 — Michael Walker, Naples
2016 — Stephanie Paul, Community School
2017 — Emily Browne, Barron Collier