Blacksburg High School junior Parker Epperley was one of 16 student-athletes from across the state to receive recognition from the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Foundation as one of the finalists for the Student-Athlete Achievement Awards.
A reception held virtually via Zoom and Facebook Live featured high school student-athletes from across Virginia that excel academically, athletically, and in their communities.
The hall received 115 nominations from August through October 2020 from which the sixteen finalists were chosen by an awards selection committee. From the eight girls and eight boys, the committee picked two from each group as the Hall of Fame’s Student Athletes of the Year.
Epperley has been an A-B honor roll student since the third grade. As a freshman, he won the regional livestock judging contest at Virginia Tech for his age group. At Blacksburg, he has played football, baseball, and basketball. He was the ESPN Blacksburg Football Player of the Game twice as a sophomore.
He has created his own tilling and gardening business growing plants in a greenhouse and tilling around 50 gardens in Virginia and West Virginia.
With high school athletics put on hold in Virginia because of the pandemic, many of this year’s finalists took the opportunity to further their commitment to their communities by creating projects and initiatives to help those in need. In addition to the scholarship awards provided to the four Student-Athletes of the Year, each remaining finalist received a $500 scholarship.
The additional funds are the result of a year-end appeal campaign for the Hall of Fame aimed at increasing the scholarships provided for student-athletes.
“Student-athletes have endured so much as a result of the pandemic,” said Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director Will Driscoll. “We wanted to make sure we continued this initiative that celebrates their overall accomplishments even if games aren’t being played.”
Since 1972, the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame has honored Virginia’s contributions to the world of sports. As the commonwealth’s official hall of fame, its mission is to honor athletic excellence and to serve as a nonprofit resource highlighting philanthropy through sports while inspiring sports fans through programming and engaging entertainment.