CHS Class of 2021 athletic
scholarship recipients

Mia Ferraro
CHS Class of 2022

(8/2021) Catoctin High School said goodbye to the graduating class of 2021 on June 3rd. A few days prior to graduation, awards and scholarships were announced by the virtual senior awards ceremony presentation. The presentation honored several graduates for their academic excellence, and three graduates in particular for their involvement in the athletic program. The CHS recipients of athletic scholarships for 2020-2021 are Ethan Burdette, Chayney Barnhart, and Dylan Click.

Ethan Burdette is one of the two recipients of the CHS Athletic Boosters Scholarship, offered by the Catoctin Athletic Boosters Club. Burdette has played basketball since the first grade and went on to play for the CHS boys basketball team for each year of high school. He has also played on the CHS boys lacrosse team since 10th grade. Burdette may continue to further his athletic career in the future at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he will major in aerospace engineering.

Burdette has received a number of additional scholarships, such as the CHS Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) Scholarship, Lions Club Scholarship, and the Army ROTC Scholarship. He was a member of the National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, and Student Government Association. Burdette’s grade point average earned him the Governor’s Merit Scholastic Award. He also maintained four years of honor roll and graduated with highest honors.

Burdette considers his most memorable achievement of his high school athletic career to be winning the 2020 regional championship for boys basketball with his team in 11th grade. The victory was the CHS boys basketball team’s first regional championship in 39 years. Looking back on the last four years, Burdette feels that the friendships he has made, as well as the memories made on bus rides to and from games, are what he will miss most about his high school athletic experience. He credits each of his coaches for their significant contribution to his athletic and academic success. "They all pushed me to be the best I could, not only on the field but in the classroom too," Burdette expressed. His advice to younger athletes is to "set goals no matter how small they might seem. They will help you not only in sports, but in everyday life as well."

Chayney Barnhart was also awarded the CHS Athletic Boosters Scholarship, as well as the Buzz Barker Memorial Scholarship. Barnhart has participated in basketball since she was six years old, and volleyball since she was nine. She has been a member of the CHS varsity volleyball team and CHS varsity girls basketball team for four years, and served as captain of both teams for two years. Barnhart has committed to the volleyball team at Messiah University, where she will major in biology.

Barnhart was selected to the Frederick News-Post Volleyball First Team All-County this year and Second Team All-County in 11th grade. She was also awarded the Volleyball MVP award for the past two years. Additionally, this year she was selected for the Central Maryland Conference (CMC) Gambrill Honorable Mention for basketball. Barnhart was a member of numerous honor societies: National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, and Mu Alpha Theta. She was also involved in the Senior Class Club and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) this past year. Barnhart was granted the Governor’s Merit Scholastic Award, maintained honor roll throughout high school, and graduated with highest honors.

Of her four years of involvement in high school basketball, Barnhart’s fondest memory is proudly cutting the net of the basket in celebration after the team had won the girls basketball regional championship this past year. She feels that the CHS varsity girls basketball coach, Amy Entwistle, has made the biggest positive influence on both her attitude and performance as an athlete. "She was one of my biggest role models in high school," said Barnhart. "She completely changed my attitude when playing basketball as well as volleyball." Upon graduating from high school sports, Barnhart anticipates that she will miss the community and the support they offer at the games the most--as well as her teammates that she played with for several years. Looking forward to continuing her volleyball career at Messiah University, she is most eager to meet new people and make new friends, as well as to learn more and expand her athletic abilities. Her advice to younger athletes is "to not take anything for granted. I would give anything to play another season of both basketball and volleyball at Catoctin."

Dylan Click is the recipient of two athletic scholarships: the Catoctin Youth Association (CYA) Scholarship offered by the Catoctin Youth Football and Cheerleading Program, as well as the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Scholarship. Click has played baseball and football since the age of five, and basketball since the age of eight. He continued to play each sport throughout high school, and plans to heavily participate in club and intramural sports in college. He will be attending Virginia Tech to study sports media and analytics, with the intention to pursue a career as a sports analyst for a major network.

Of the senior class of 2021, Click was voted "Most Athletic" by his peers. He was awarded the Governor’s Merit Scholastic Award, and was granted the Lions Club Scholarship and the Emmitsburg High Alumni Scholarship. Click was involved in several honor societies: National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, Science National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, and Mu Alpha Theta. He also participated in the Senior Class Club and FCA. Like Burdette and Barnhart, Click has also maintained honor roll each year of high school and graduated with highest honors.

Click feels that his two most memorable athletic achievements are winning the 2019 Maryland 1A football state championship in 11th grade, and this year’s Maryland 1A baseball state championship. His competitiveness and his will to win, he believes, is the source of much of his athletic success. "I didn’t accept losing and I wouldn’t be outworked," said Click. He also attributes much of his success to the coaches at Catoctin: former varsity head football coach Doug Williams, varsity head basketball coach Brian Burdette, and varsity head baseball coach Mike Franklin. "These coaches not only made me a great player, but an even better person." Click feels that upon graduating, he will most miss being able to play the sports that he loves with his friends that he has played with since middle and elementary school. "We made countless memories on and off the field, and the bonds that we made will never be broken," he expressed. While he will miss his teammates at Catoctin, he is looking forward to being a part of the "tight-knit" community at Virginia Tech. Click’s advice for younger athletes is to "give 100 percent in everything you do, because if you don’t, you will come to regret it later in life."

As our athletes of the class of 2021 further their education and athletic careers, we are excited to see their influence on younger athletes returning to the program--with fall sports beginning August 11th.