The Mercer Island High School male and female Athletes of the Year were announced last week as voted on by all the club and high school coaches associated with Mercer Island High School. The two have many things in common. Both set numerous records for their respective teams, both decided to play just two sports instead of three during their senior year and both will attend Colgate University in New York next fall. But the one thing that Georgia Gier and Greg Mahony did the best, was giving Mercer Island fans some of the best athletic performances in the school’s history.

Georgia Gier

At 6-feet tall Gier was hard to miss, whether it was on the basketball court or in the swimming pool playing water polo.

“Georgia is a tremendously gifted athlete,” said Mercer Island High School girls water polo coach Mike Goldstein. “She’s not a swimmer, but she excelled in our sport. She forced other teams to change their offense because of her defensive dominance.”

Gier dominated the basketball court during the winter season and lead the girls team to its first district tournament appearance in nearly five years.

“Beating Newport to bring the team to the district tournament was the best moment,” said Gier, who was selected second team All-KingCo for basketball and the sole senior and captain on the team.

The victory was not only the team’s first against the Knights following two regular season losses but Gier pulled down 15 rebounds, scored 18 points and went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Gier set many school records during her senior year including breaking her own rebound record three times to finally post a 20-rebound performance against Sammamish High School during the playoffs. During Gier’s four years on the team, Mercer Island went from a one-win season to nearly a .500 record.

Gier signed to play basketball at Colgate University before her senior year. The senior decided not play volleyball to concentrate on basketball.

“It was the hardest decision of my life,” said Gier, who played three sports up until her last year.

While Gier played volleyball and basketball prior to high school, she picked up water polo her freshman year. She was elected a Co-captain this past season and was one of the most dominant players in the state. During her time, the team has won two state titles and finished second to Newport in 2007.

“She helped by bringing competitive fire to the team,” said Goldstein. “She clearly wanted to win, and it was well-balanced with an understanding of the work that goes into becoming an elite athlete.”

Greg Mahony

One football game stands out in every Islander’s mind when “Greg Mahony’s” name is mentioned, even though he comes from one of the most prolific lacrosse families on the Island and is one of the best high school lacrosse players in the nation.

The game came on the last rainy Friday night of the season against Seattle Prep. Mahony had broken the school record for rushing yards in a game twice during the previous four games but this was a special night. Every time Mahony touched the ball it seemed like he finished the play in the end zone.

“The atmosphere was amazing,” said Mahony, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns during the first quarter. “The team really came together.”

The speculation at the start of the game was whether he would break the school record for points scored in a single season, but he broke much more than that. Mahony finished with multiple records, including most yards in a game at 351, most touchdowns in a game with six, and as the teams field-goal kicker he set the record for most points scored in one game with 41. Needless to say Mahony broke the school record for points in a season with 140.

“I shudder to think what would have happened if he would have played the entire game,” said former Mercer Island football coach Dick Nicholl, who pulled Mahony from the game after the second play of the second half. “He had a motor. He finally got tired in the game.”

Mahony finished the season with 1,209 yards despite not starting during the first three games of the season.

“I was the only running back left and I got the fruits of the line and coaches hard work through the season,” said Mahony.

Beyond football, Mahony’s talents were also evident on the lacrosse team. The senior was named all-state, he was an all-American and all any team could handle. Mahony led the Islanders to the state title game, only to lose by two points to Bainbridge Island. Mahony saved his best for last, scoring more than half of his team’s points on unassisted goals. He led the state in scoring and was named to numerous all-star teams around the nation.

Mahony plans to play lacrosse for Colgate.

“I put in a lot of hard work for sports during the past four years,” said Mahony, who also finished with a 3.94 GPA and helped the swim team win the state title during his junior year. “It is just a culmination of all that hard work.”

Mercer Island Scholar Athletes of the Year

The Scholar Athlete of the Year award is given to the two athletes with the highest GPA along with taking into consideration their athletic contributions to the school.

Lauren Govier’s high school career was about more than her senior year as she won 12 varsity letters and finished with a 3.88 GPA. Govier helped the girls soccer team to the state finals during her sophomore season, the gymnastics team to second in state her junior year and was a standout track athlete. It was no coincidence that Govier competed for two state runner-ups as she was named captain of the soccer team and gymnastics team during her senior season.

Islander Trevor Fulp’s leadership was also a big part of his athletic career as a guard for the Mercer Island basketball team and one-half of the 2007 doubles state championship team with fellow senior Chris Winterbauer. Fulp posted a GPA of 3.908 during four years at Mercer Island High School. He also helped the Mercer Island boys tennis team to back-to-back state titles.

Other 2007 athletic awards presented last week were:

The Army Scholar Athlete award — Jay Voit and Laura Vogel

The Marine Distinguished Athlete award — Peter Lambe and Cathy Caputo

The Brett Storie Memorial Scholarship — Suzy Myre