Some 40 high school senior athletes were honored at the Troy Sportsplex last night as part of the 2009 J.O. “Tip” Colley Awards Program.

Erica Henderson of Charles Henderson High School and Phillip Quincey of Pike Liberal Arts School were named award winners, while Kelsey Minor of CHHS and Stephen Pearlstein of CHHS were named runners-up.

Nominees had to be students at one of the four high schools in Pike County and had to meet certain scholastic criteria.

Nominees were also required to be involved in both athletics and a local church.

“We give it to the one who is best rounded in all of those areas,” said Jerry Miller, chairman of the J.O. “Tip” Colley Committee.

Both of the winners said they were surprised to hear their name called.

“The first couple of accomplishments they read off, I wasn’t sure that it was me,” Quincey said. “Then, I heard one and said to myself, ‘That’s me.’ But then, I said, ‘How did I win?’”

Henderson said she was especially surprised due to the tough competition.

“When I got the program, I was looking through it trying to figure out who was going to win and who was going to be the runner-up because I didn’t think I would win,” she said.

Miller said he felt the committee had chosen two great candidates as the award recipients.

“I think the two winners are very quality individuals. They come from very good families,” Miller said. “They both have really epitomized what this award is all about. They’re very well-rounded in all areas of their lives.”