Thursday, December 18, 2008

Manti Te'o named Sporting News High School Athlete of the Year

Punahou senior Manti Te'o has been named Sporting News magazine’s national High School Athlete of the Year.

The announcement comes in the new issue of Sporting News, which features an interview with Te'o and Sporting News’ pro and college athletes of the year.

An award of this level for a Hawaii high school athlete is believed to be unprecedented.

"I've been thinking about it, and I can't recall anything like it," said Hawaii High School Athletic Association director Keith Amemiya.

Te'o played linebacker and running back for the Buffanblu, which won the state football championship Dec. 5. He also played on the Punahou basketball team last season.

He has not decided where to attend college next year, telling the Sporting News, “ I have gone on two official visits, to UCLA and Notre Dame. I had great experiences at both universities, but I have a few more visits to go on — Stanford, USC and BYU — so I’m not really ready because of my lack of knowledge of the other three.”

Te'o also won the inaugural Butkus Award for being judged the best high school linebacker in the nation. He is also the Hawaii Gatorade Player of the Year in football, and is a candidate for Gatorade's national award.

[12/24] USA Today has named Punahou senior linebacker Manti Te'o as its Defensive Player of the Year on its All-USA first team.

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