Atlanta, August 26, 2025– The American Association of Adapted Sports Programs, Inc. (AAASP) is pleased to announce that more than 80 individuals and organizations have been nominated for 2025 ASPIRE Awards, representing 23 categories that highlight outstanding contributions in support of student athletes with qualifying disabilities. The Adapted Sports Programs in Recreation and Education (ASPIRE) Awards recognize the exemplary efforts of individuals and organizations that have been instrumental in advancing AAASP’s mission to expand access to adapted sports programming nationwide.
The Seventh Annual ASPIRE Awards Celebration will take place on Sunday, October 26th at Maggiano’s Little Italy, 3368 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, Georgia. The event will be emceed by actor, writer and television personality Patrick Cusick, and will feature keynote remarks from special guest, Kyle Maynard, World Record-Holding Athlete, Author, Entrepreneur and Adventurer. During the ceremony, AAASP will honor these nominees and name the award recipients for 2025. A record 93 nominations were received this year!
Nominees for this year’s ASPIRE Awards are listed below:
Katelyn Hand, Adapted Track & Field, Fayette County Schools
Ansley Nix, Adapted Track & Field, Gordon County Schools
Jenna Proctor, Adapted Track & Field, Gordon County Schools
Max Richardson, Adapted Track & Field, Gordon County Schools
Ben Vondrak, Adapted Track & Field, Gwinnett County Public Schools
Charles “Drew” Freeman, Coach of the Year JV, Muscogee County School District
Julius Hooper, Coach of the Year JV, Clarke County Public Schools
Ryan Johnson, Coach of the Year JV, Clarke County Public Schools
Larry Osborne, Coach of the Year JV, Houston County Schools
Len Boudreaux, Coach of the Year Varsity, Gwinnett County Public Schools
Dr. Jeffrey Martin, Coach of the Year Varsity, Houston County Schools
Dain Weigle, Coach of the Year Varsity, Gwinnett County Public Schools
Auburn University Adapted Sports Program, Community-Based Program Award, Auburn, AL
National Federation of State High Schools (NFHS), Community-Based Program Award, Indianapolis, IN
Clayton Eagles, Education-Based Program Award, Clayton County Public Schools
Muscogee County School District, Education-Based Program Award, Muscogee County
Peach Rolling Trojans, Education-Based Program Award, Peach County Schools
Tanya Anderson, Eli Wolff Advocacy Award, Georgia High School Association (GHSA)
Dr. Lionel Brown, Eli Wolff Advocacy Award, Peach County Schools
Mark Christmas, Eli Wolff Advocacy Award, Clayton County Public Schools
Dr. Nicholas Griffin, Eli Wolff Advocacy Award, Troup County School System
Tracie Henry, Eli Wolff Advocacy Award, Illinois High School Association
Justin Kesterson, Eli Wolff Advocacy Award, Washington Interscholastic Activities Association
Christy King, Eli Wolff Advocacy Award, Troup County School System
Dr. Alan Long, Eli Wolff Advocacy Award, BSN Sports
Dr. Jimmy McCarney, Eli Wolff Advocacy Award, Family Life Center, LaGrange, GA
Andy Warner, Eli Wolff Advocacy Award, Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletics Associations
Marcia Edwards, Gail Hendrick Champion of Support Award, Atlanta Public Schools
Vincent Hamlin, Gail Hendrick Champion of Support Award, Peach County Schools
Kila Ray Brown, High School Senior Athlete Award, Clayton County Public Schools
Jeremiah Hopson, High School Senior Athlete Award, Gwinnett County Public Schools
Bailey McCartney, High School Senior Athlete Award, Troup County School System
Taylor Nation, High School Senior Athlete Award, Troup County School System
Sherry Richards, Leslie Sweatman Official of The Year Award, Macon, GA
Stan Awtry, Media "Hero" Award, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta, GA
Mr. Chapman, Media "Hero" Award, Chapmans Media, LaGrange, GA
Will Hammock, Media "Hero" Award, Gwinnett Daily Post, Gwinnett County, GA
Luke Hetrick, Media "Hero" Award, WSB Channel 2, Atlanta, GA
Halyn Duncan, Most Improved Athlete Award-JV, Clarke County Public Schools
Maggie McGraw, Most Improved Athlete Award-JV, Muscogee County School District
Mickelson McGraw, Most Improved Athlete Award-JV, Muscogee County School District
Cohen Stephens, Most Improved Athlete Award-JV, Clarke County Public Schools
Elam Tyson, Most Improved Athlete Award-JV, Clarke County Public Schools
Daniel Apuango, Most Improved Athlete Award-Varsity, Gwinnett County Public Schools
Jaden Screen, Most Improved Athlete Award-Varsity, Houston County Schools
Gary Woodruff, Most Improved Athlete Award-Varsity, Clayton County Public Schools
Joshua Biyoyouwei, Power Chair Athlete of the Year, Gwinnett County Public Schools
Elam Tyson, Scholar Athlete of the Year - JV, Clarke County Schools
Anthony Cuti, Scholar Athlete of the Year - Varsity, Houston County Schools
Ashlyn Stevens, Scholar Athlete of the Year - Varsity, Houston County Schools
Josh Cruz, Spirit of AAASP Sportsmanship Award, Houston County School District
Nick Long, Spirit of AAASP Sportsmanship Award, Peach County School District
Caleb Merriken, Spirit of AAASP Sportsmanship Award, Muscogee County School District
Najee Smothers, Spirit of AAASP Sportsmanship Award, DeKalb County School District
Antoine L. Craig, Vaughn-Storms Founders Award, Blind Soccer Nation, Virginia State University
Matt Hatchett & Blake Tillery, Committee Chairs, Georgia House & Senate Appropriations Committee, Vaughn-Storms Founders Award, State of Georgia
Evander Holyfield, Vaughn-Storms Founders Award, Holyfield Foundation, Atlanta, GA
Ja’Corian Carter, Wheelchair Basketball Athlete of the Year-JV, Henry County Schools
Sannitra Colbert, Wheelchair Basketball Athlete of the Year-JV, Peach County Schools
Hunter Culverson, Wheelchair Basketball Athlete of the Year-JV, Muscogee County School District
Jace Harter, Wheelchair Basketball Athlete of the Year-JV, Peach County Schools
Jabre Hayes, Wheelchair Basketball Athlete of the Year-JV, Atlanta Public Schools
Jeremiah Rhodes, Wheelchair Basketball Athlete of the Year-JV, Peach County Schools
Jensen Ziezer, Wheelchair Basketball Athlete of the Year-JV, Clarke County Public Schools
DeMarcus Allen, Jr, Wheelchair Basketball Athlete of the Year-Varsity, Clayton County Public Schools
Anthony Cuti, Wheelchair Basketball Athlete of the Year-Varsity, Houston County Schools
Andrew Dotson, Wheelchair Basketball Athlete of the Year-Varsity, Clayton County Public Schools
Laila Kindness, Wheelchair Basketball Athlete of the Year-Varsity, Houston County Schools
Paul Hart, Wheelchair Football Athlete of the Year-JV, Muscogee County School District
Caleb Merriken, Wheelchair Football Athlete of the Year-JV, Muscogee County School District
Lane Rogers, Wheelchair Football Athlete of the Year-JV, Clarke County Public Schools
Caleb Watters, Wheelchair Football Athlete of the Year-JV, Peach County Schools
Jose Aguirre-Saldana, Wheelchair Football Athlete of the Year-Varsity, Clayton County Public Schools
Dalton Crosby, Wheelchair Football Athlete of the Year-Varsity, Houston County Schools
Andrew Dotson, Wheelchair Football Athlete of the Year-Varsity, Clayton County Public Schools
Jacee Hand, Wheelchair Handball Athlete of The Year Award, Henry County Schools
Cullen Minter, Wheelchair Handball Athlete of The Year Award, Muscogee County School District
Randall Montanez, Wheelchair Handball Athlete of The Year Award, Gwinnett County Public Schools
Ruby Stachowski, Wheelchair Handball Athlete of The Year Award, Houston County Schools
Jace Tolliver, Wheelchair Handball Athlete of The Year Award, Peach County Schools
Thank you to the following 2025 AAASP ASPIRE Awards Sponsors: the Georgia Department of Education, the State of Georgia Appropriations Committee, the Georgia High School Association (GHSA), National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), Stout Creative, Varsity Brands and the AAASP Board of Directors.
Plan to join us for the event at Maggiano’s Little Italy – at 4:00 pm – to celebrate the nominees and winners with us! Tickets are only $50 and includes an amazing, family-style dinner at the event! Learn more at: https://www.facebook.com/AdaptedSports and RSVP for the event at: https://adaptedsports.org/aaasp-aspire-awards/.
The American Association of Adapted Sports Programs (AAASP), headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is a not-for-profit association dedicated to developing interscholastic adapted sports programs in partnership with national, state, and local educational agencies. It represents a standardized approach to extracurricular adapted team sports and has developed one of the nation's most comprehensive school-based athletic programs for students with qualifying disabilities attending elementary, middle, and high school. For more information, please visit our website at http://adaptedsports.org or join our conversations on Twitter at: @AdaptedSports.
