May 2025
MEET THE 2025 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS!
MAKAYLA LOVATO
HIGHLAND HIGH SCHOOL
1ST PLACE
Highland High School multi-sport athlete, team captain and 2025 class valedictorian Makayla Lovato is the first-place winner of the second annual Coach Chris Eaton Memorial Scholarship. An all-district soccer selection who also captained Hornets teams in golf, basketball, track, powerlifting, cross-country and marksmanship, Makayla will attend the US Naval Academy and plans to be a pilot in the military. Among other things, she has organized food and clothing drives, volunteered at a home for developmentally disabled young people, and has a list of activities and accomplishments too long to post here. She says she “strives for excellence” in everything she does.
BENJAMIN MORGAN
ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY
2ND PLACE
Ben Morgan was recently named Academy’s male athlete of the year after a stellar career on both the soccer field and the basketball court. Ben’s Academy soccer team won state his senior year, and the basketball team, of which he was team captain, won district two consecutive years. He also played on the Academy golf team his junior year. He welcomes being trusted with leadership positions. Ben has been accepted to the Ocean Futures program at Arizona State University. Ben believes some of the most valuable and helpful tools in sports are belief and trust in teammates.
CHRISTABEL THIEL-HADJILAMBRINOS
LA CUEVA HIGH SCHOOL
TIE- 3RD PLACE
A member of all-district and all-state track and cross-country teams during her time at La Cueva, Christabel was team captain of both teams her senior year and also earned most valuable runner honors on the cross-country team her senior year. She was a member of the district 4x800 record-holding team. She also participated on the swim and dive team for four years and as a powerlifter for three years. A National Merit Scholar, Christabel will attend Dartmouth College where she plans to focus on a medical or research-related field of study.
OLIVIA MURPHY
SANDIA HIGH SCHOOL
TIE-3RD PLACE
Olivia Murphy has been admitted to the Honors Program at the University of Arizona, beginning a Bachelors degree program in medicine. Her volleyball and track and field activities at Sandia High were cut short by injuries and an ACL surgery that forced her to accept a new role “as a non-athlete,” she says. Her passion is to help and heal others. She was recognized by the College Board as a National Indigenous Scholar, as exemplified by her 4.2 GPA over the course of her high school career.