Wendy's 2012 High School Heisman
Georgia Finalists (Girls)
Makayla Angel Pickens High School Jasper
Allie Buchalski Johns Creek High School Johns Creek
Anna Dooley Tattnall Square Academy Macon
Samantha Eberhard Clarke Central Athens
Margaret Hartman Sequoyah High School Canton
Lindy Long Landmark Christian School Fairburn
Valerie McLure Westfield School Perry
Margaret Midkiff Mount De Sales Academy Macon
Anna Newton Bulloch Academy Statesboro
Amanda Pace Flint River Academy Woodbury
From the State Finalists, one senior male and one senior female from each state and the District of Columbia will be selected as State Winners.
The judging panel will select 12 National Finalists from the 102 State Winners. The National Finalists include 1 senior male and 1 senior female from each of the six geographic Heisman regions.
The judging panel will select 1 senior male and 1 senior female from the 12 National Finalists as National Wendy’s High School Heisman Winners.
Bulloch Academy senior Anna Newton has been named one of only 10 female Georgia finalists in the annual Wendy’s High School Heisman program.
The nationwide program honors the top high-school seniors who best exemplify a supreme “citizen-scholar-athlete”. She was nominated for her academic aptitude, athletic talent and tremendous display of commitment to their communities.
Newton, the 17-year-old daughter of Dewey and Laura Newton, is the only finalist from southeast Georgia.
The 20 Georgia finalists (10 male students were also selected) will compete against each other in the state competition.
On Nov. 5, two state winners, a boy and a girl, will be announced and will advance with the other 102 winners from 50 states and Washington, D.C., to become a national finalist.
Newton is Bulloch Academy’s fifth state finalist in the program’s brief history. In 1997, Amelia Simmons was named a Georgia female winner. In 2004, Lauryn Higgins was also named a Georgia female winner. In 1998, Lori Brown was named a Georgia finalist. In 2010, John Harden was named a state finalist.
“These students are truly in a league of their own,” said Archie Griffin, the only two-time winner of the prestigious Heisman Trophy and program spokesperson. “Each student nominated for the award has gone above and beyond expectations to help those in need, enhance their education and pursue their dreams.”
Newton is a Scholar-Athlete, participating in three sports while maintaining an ‘A’ average throughout her high-school career. She excels in cross country, basketball and track and field. Last season, Anna scored the 1,000th point of her basketball career, helping the Lady Gators to win the GISA Region 4-AAA title en route to a 24-6 record. She has been named All-State once and All-Region twice.
In track and field, she ran a leg on the state championship 4x400-meter relay team in her freshman year. The Lady Gators won the Class-AA state titles in her eighth grade and ninth-grade years. Newton has been named All-State once and All-Region four times.
Academically, Newton is in the top 5 percent of her 45-member senior class. The AP Scholar is on the school’s Math and Literary teams as well as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Leadership Team. She has been on the school’s Yearly Headmaster’s List all four years of her high-school career.
Newton is a member of the Statesboro First Baptist Church Youth Group and has worked with community events such as the Special Olympics, Relay for Life, the Alzheimer’s Walk and the First Methodist Church Soup Kitchen.
