CAMDEN, NY - The Camden Central School District is pleased to announce that Camden High School has been recognized as a “School of Excellence” by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association for a second consecutive year. The awards for the 2023-24 school year were announced by the association on Friday, July 26th.
The “School of Excellence” program highlights schools that demonstrate a high level of academic achievement among their varsity athletes. To obtain this recognition, a school’s athletic department must have 75 percent of its varsity teams achieve “Scholar-Athlete Team” status through NYSPHSAA.
Per the association’s criteria, a “Scholar-Athlete Team” is a team that can take the overall averages of 75 percent of its players and have the average of those numbers exceed 90 percent. The athletes on a scholar-athlete team with an overall average above 90 receive an award from NYSPHSAA.
For the 2023-24 school year, Camden High School had 24 of its varsity teams achieve “Scholar-Athlete Team” status. Teams recognized with this distinction include: boys’ cross country, boys’ soccer, field hockey, football, game day cheerleading, girls’ cross country, girls’ soccer, girls’ tennis, boys’ alpine skiing, boys’ basketball, boys’ indoor track and field, girls’ alpine skiing, girls’ basketball, girls’ bowling, girls’ indoor track and field, girls’ volleyball, girls’ wrestling, boys’ golf, boys’ outdoor track and field, boys’ tennis, girls’ golf, girls’ outdoor track and field, softball and unified basketball.
Beyond the team awards, an individual award is also bestowed on any athlete achieving a 90 average or better that is not on a qualifying Scholar-Athlete team. Including individual honors, a total of 197 Scholar-Athlete awards were given to individuals, or to qualifying members of a team reaching “Scholar-Athlete Team” status across Camden’s Athletic Department for the 2023-24 school year.
According to Director of Athletics, Physical Education and Health Josh Mazzaferro, this recognition signifies a school-wide commitment to academic achievement for its student-athletes.
“We are extremely proud of our student athletes and coaches for keeping the focus on academics, as well as athletics,” Mazzaferro said. “It is not easy to balance the two, so this award is a testament to their hard work off the field.”
Camden is one of just seven schools in Oneida County to qualify as a NYSPHSAA “School of Excellence” or “School of Distinction” in the 2023-24 school year.