Kathryn Wilson and Christian Cardoso are the Josephine Armuth and Dr. Maurice McKain Mental Attitude Award winners at Columbus North.
Ted Schultz | The Republic
Christian Cardoso and Kathryn Wilson have played on the biggest stage in their respective sports and have excelled away from the pitch and the court, as well.
As a result, the Columbus North seniors have been presented with the Dr. Maurice McKain and Josephine Armuth Mental Attitude Awards. The awards are given to a Columbus North senior male and female athlete who are nominated by varsity coaches and exhibit exemplary sportsmanship, mental attitude and scholarship throughout their high school careers.
“I’m just really happy that I’m able to have a positive attitude and be able to represent North in a good way,” Wilson said.
Columbus North’s Christian Cardoso, left, wins a header over Center Grove’s Keaton Barnhizer during a regional semifinal soccer match at the BCSC Soccer Complex in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Cardoso was a four-year letterwinner in soccer and was a starter on North teams that reached the Class 3A state final in 2022 and the semistate in 2023.
“I would say the first two years were just building because we were really young starting off as freshmen and sophomores,” Cardoso said. “But then going into junior year and senior year, it was kind of our peak years. We just built a lot of trust into each other, and we worked so hard all the days of summer practices and the regular season and the postseason. It was just a bunch of hard work, and it shows at the end of the day.”
“Christian has proven to be a dependable young man who has high expectations of himself and teammates,” North boys soccer coach Andy Glover added. “His leadership has been reflected in the team’s performance, reaching a state final and a final four in his tenure. His attendance was almost perfect over four years while maintaining two jobs and a robust academic schedule. Christian has a very high level of integrity and wears a smile when things get difficult.”
Cardoso graduated with a 3.7 GPA. He had a Division I offer from Bellarmine, but will stay home and play for a fledgling IU Columbus program and major in physical therapy.
“I think it’s amazing how they did their first year,” Cardoso said. “Hopefully this year, a lot of tables can turn, and people start to realize just because it’s a small school doesn’t mean it’s a bad school.”
Columbus North’s Kathryn Wilson hits a shot in a No. 1 singles sectional tennis match against Columbus East’s Sara Moran Mendez at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Wilson won last year’s Girls Tennis State Singles championship and will attempt to defend her title on Saturday. She played No. 2 singles behind her sister Ashlie her first two years before going 30-0 last season.
“I’m just really grateful that I’ve had a good coach throughout the whole thing and I’ve always been very fortunate with the team that I’ve had,” Wilson said. “We’ve always been good. I’ve always had good people that I could practice with, and we just have always had really good chemistry.”
Wilson also played basketball her first three years before committing to play tennis at Purdue and focusing on that sport.
“Kathryn is a wonderful young girl with so much ahead of her,” North tennis coach Kendal Hammel said. “You could not ask for a better role model, team leader, competitor and humble person. Academically, she has a 3.98 GPA and is very well-liked by her classmates and peers. She has been a multisport varsity player with passion for what she does. She sets a high standard as a person and a player.”
Dr. Maurice McKain was a local physician and longtime team doctor and athletic trainer at Columbus High School in the 1930s. Josephine Armuth was a longtime educator at Columbus High School. The McKain Award has been presended since 1940, and the Armuth Award has been given since 1974.
