INPERSON
Proof Positive!
Mars Area’s Hunter Boyd
receives 2018-2019
Positive Athlete Western PA Award.
H
unter Boyd is a sports superstar. In
May, the Mars Area graduate was
named a 2018-2019 Positive Athlete
Western PA Award Winner. Boyd
was selected from among more than
2,500 student-athlete nominees
from 150 Pennsylvania schools. The honor is
presented to those student-athletes who have
overcome difficult circumstances, have given
back to their schools and communities and
who embody an optimistic attitude.
Boyd, 19, has lived in Mars his entire life—
and is actually a second-generation Mars Area
graduate; his dad, Sean, graduated from Mars
Area in 1986. His mom, Deana, graduated
from Shaler. Boyd’s time at Mars Area was fun,
rewarding and exciting and he has many fond
memories and friendships from high school.
Boyd was widely involved in school and
throughout the community. While in high
school, he was a member of the National
Honor society as well as the president of the
German National Honor Society. He was the
president of the German Club and a member
of the water protection program.
Boyd has played football for nine years—
involved in the youth, middle school and
high school programs at Mars Area. During
his senior year, his peers elected him captain
of the varsity team. That same year, Boyd was
elected to the First Team All-Conference
for class 5A. In addition to football, Boyd
competed on the middle school and high
school track and field teams for five years,
and for both his junior and senior years, he
was elected varsity captain. In those years,
Boyd qualified for the WPIAL championship
in shot put and discus, and landed the 4th
farthest discus throw and 8th farthest shot put
throw in the school’s history. He was named
Field MVP and Offensive and Defensive
Lineman MVP for those years as well in the
respective sports.
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When Boyd was
younger, he participated
in youth basketball and
youth lacrosse at Mars
Area.
Off the field, he used
his love of sports to
help foster a new age of
athletes at Mars Area.
In 2016, he student-
coached a youth football
team at Mars (ages 6 to 8) for a successful
season. That same year, Boyd—along with
Rob Wagner and David Goodworth—created
the first Mars youth football camp, where
young kids could participate for a week and
safely learn the fundamentals of the game in a
fun and engaging environment. He continued
to volunteer at that camp until he graduated.
Outside of sports, Boyd volunteered at
TRY Special Needs Camp and has been a
buddy for its “Night to Remember” prom for
the last four years.
“My sister and I also organized a Hurricane
Harvey food drive, in which we worked with
a local trucking company to collect a tractor-
trailer’s worth of supplies to send to those
affected,” he adds.
Boyd currently attends Penn State
University–University Park, and is studying
biology and neuroscience. “My ultimate goal
Hines Ward presented Hunter with his award.
icmags.com
is medical school and to work in neurology.
Last year we lost my grandfather, Paul Boyd,
to Parkinson’s disease. We were very close
growing up and he had a huge influence
on me, so watching him fight against such
a debilitating disease was life-changing. I
decided I want to help people going through
what he went through,” he says.
“Receiving the Positive Athlete Western PA
Award means the world to me, as not often
enough do high school athletes get recognized
for the good things they do off the field. It was
a very personal banquet that highlighted my
achievements athletically, in the community
and academically.”
Boyd couldn’t be more thankful to his
teachers, coaches and, most especially, his
family for helping him to achieve all that he
has to this day. “Receiving this award speaks
volumes to the people that Mars Athletics,
specifically the football and track and field
programs, create—individuals who love
to compete and excel in the classroom and
facilitate growth in the community,” he says.
“My mom, dad and sister have always
supported me—in 12 years of athletics there
has only been one game/meet that they were
unable to make. They’ve driven hours to
support me in rain, snow or shine, and for that
I’m eternally grateful.” ■