Minneapolis Washburn star Pieter Gagnon and Eastview standout McKenzie Melander earned $5000 college scholarships as the 2008 winners of the Twin Cities Marathon High School Scholarship Program. Gagnon and Melander were selected for the awards from more than 100 applicants, all top track and cross-country runners at their high schools in the greater Twin Cities Metro area.Gagnon is a four-time team captain, a 5 Eyewitness News Athlete of the Week, a Star Tribune Athlete of the Week, a three-time Most Valuable Player for Washburn High School, and has numerous state and regional running titles including a third place finish at the MSHSL State Cross Country Championships last fall. Currently ranked second in his class academically, Gagnon plans to study engineering at the University of Minnesota and to continue to pursue his love of running.
Melander was the runner-up in both the 1600 and 3200 meter runs at the MSHSL State Track and Field Championships last spring. She was an All-State Cross Country athlete as a sophomore and finished 3rd in the Minnesota State Cross Country Meet her junior year. Melander is a two-time All-State Track athlete and has earned 8 All-Conference awards. Melander volunteers in her community and plans to attend University of Iowa, where she will run cross country and track.
“We value the running spirit these two individuals exemplify,” Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. executive director Virginia Brophy Achman said. “It was a difficult decision because of the tremendous quality of those who applied. But McKenzie and Pieter’s leadership and athletic determination and ability make them the perfect recipients of this year’s scholarships. We congratulate them on all of their accomplishments."
The recipients were selected based on academic achievements, community service, running accomplishments (in either cross-country or track) as well as a personal essay.
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