Football player Gilboy earns academic honor

WATERVILLE, Maine --- John Gilboy (Thornton Academy/Saco, Maine) shared the stage with Division I college greats Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy at the National Football Foundation Awards Dinner on December 8.

Gilboy, a first-year defensive tackle for the Colby football team, was selected as one of five honorees across the United States as a 2009 National Football Foundation National High School Scholar-Athlete. Gilboy, a graduate of Thornton Academy, was the Northeast Region honoree. The prestigious award is solely based on high school accomplishments.

"We are proud to have someone from Maine who has achieved at such a high level in every aspect of his life," Colby head coach Ed Mestieri said. "John has begun to impact not just our football team, but the entire Colby community in an extremely favorable manner. As a good a football player as John is, he is even a better person and we're proud to have him represent our football program on and off the field."

Joining Gilboy on the list of honorees was Jamal-Rashad Patterson (Stanford), Gavin Mills (Air Force), Matt Lancaster (Illinois State), and Brenton Caprio (Williams & Mary).

Tebow, a past Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Florida, won the Campbell Trophy as the nation's top scholar-athlete. McCoy, from the University of Texas, was one of the other college scholar-athletes honored at the event. The College Football Hall of Fame also inducted such greats as Tim Brown, Curt Warner, and Chris Spielman.

A three-year letterman, Gilboy led Thornton Academy his senior year as team captain and a two-way starter at offensive guard and defensive tackle. A semifinalist for the Fitzpatrick Trophy, which goes to the top senior high school player in Maine, Gilboy earned all-conference and all-county honors in back-to-back years at guard. A member of the SMAA All-Academic Team, he earned a spot on The Maine Sunday Telegram "Class of the State" team, and The Journal Tribune named him to its all-star team.

While taking AP and Honors courses, Gilboy maintained a 4.28 GPA and graduated third in his class of 320. He received certificates of excellence in advanced math, advanced U.S. History, Latin I, II, III & IV, as well as honors in biology, chemistry, algebra and English. Following two terms as president of his class, Gilboy was elected president of the entire student body his senior year. He also served as vice president in the National Honor Society.

"John's innate work ethic also carries over to the playing field," said Thornton head coach Kevin Kezal. "John played at a very high level and was one of the main reasons we were able to have a 10-1 record and play in our league's championship game. He is a strong student-athlete who I believe his best academic and athletic years are still ahead of him."

As a leader in the community and with a passion for giving back, Gilboy traveled to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip. His other community service includes volunteering at a local soup kitchen, Toys for Tots and MLK Day of Service.

Gilboy, a biochemistry major at Colby, will compete for Colby's indoor and outdoor track and field teams.