2011 Winner Williams Jerez, Centerfielder for the Grand Street Educational Campus, Was Drafted by the Boston Red Sox This Month

Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott today announced the 2011 winners of the Public Schools Athletic League’s (PSAL) annual Wingate Awards for outstanding performance in varsity sports, including baseball, bowling, cricket, Double Dutch, football, softball, swimming, and gymnastics. Each year, the PSAL honors outstanding student-athletes. This year’s winners, all of whom are graduating seniors, were honored at St. Francis College in Brooklyn.

“Congratulations to our athletes for a terrific year in high school competitive sports where many of our students were named All American in their sport,” Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott said. “It is a testament to the PSAL program and to the focus and determination of these young athletes who also must do well in school to participate. They have shown prowess on the field and in the classroom.”

“Our students had a spectacular year this year, playing a football championship game at Yankee Stadium and basketball championship games at Madison Square Garden,” said Deputy Chancellor of Operations Kathleen Grimm. “During these games, they played well and showed good sportsmanship, which is a cornerstone of the PSAL. Congratulations to all our student athletes.”

“I applaud our student-athletes and thank them for giving us exciting games to watch throughout this past year,” said Eric Goldstein, CEO of SchoolFood, Transportation, and the PSAL. “One of our players, Williams Jerez of Grand Street Campus, was drafted by the Boston Red Sox and another player, Morgan Phillips of Frederick Douglass Academy, was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds.”

“All of our students and their families should be proud of what they accomplished this year,” PSAL director Donald Douglas said. “The PSAL offers a wide variety of competitive sports from the traditional, such as baseball and football, to the non-traditional, such as cricket and Double Dutch, and many of our student athletes participate in multiple sports.”

The PSAL Wingate Fund was created in 1903 as the Public Schools Athletic League with the dual purpose of financing and administering athletic programs in New York City public schools. When the school system assumed primary responsibility for these activities, PSAL Inc., and the General George Wingate Fund continued to provide financial support for the PSAL.

More than 30,000 students, both boys and girls, participate in the PSAL, with many playing multiple sports. In addition, more than 200 high schools participate, collectively fielding more than 2,400 sports teams.

The PSAL winners are: