Tyler Ernst and Grace McMahon are this year’s recipients of Columbus East’s Judson S. Erne Awards.
Tyler Ernst and Grace McMahon had been successful in two sports, but until this year, only one of their sports was a full-fledged IHSAA sport.
This year, the Columbus East seniors had a chance to shine on a bigger stage in those sports. Ernst was one of the top players for the Olympian boys volleyball team, and McMahon helped East win the first IHSAA Girls Wrestling state championship.
Monday afternoon, Ernst and McMahon were honored with the Judson S. Erne Awards at East’s Awards Program. The Erne Awards are presented to an East senior male and female athlete who have excelled in athletics, academics, character and leadership.
McMahon was part of a club wrestling team her first three years. This year, she placed third at 170 pounds in the Girls Wrestling State Finals. Along with her twin sister Monica, the state champ at 190 pounds, they led the Olympians to the state title.
“A lot of this could not have been done without Monica,” Grace said. “The state championship together, that was a huge thing for both of us. Wrestling is my main sport, and we really could not have done that without her.”
Grace also played lacrosse as a freshman and has competed in track and field the past three years. She has thrown the shot and discus and this year, added a couple of sprint races.
“It’s really an honor to receive this award because at the beginning of my freshman year, I didn’t think of myself as an athlete,” McMahon said.
Ernst, meanwhile, played tennis all four years and was East’s No. 1 singles player last fall. He also was a starter on the boys volleyball team after it became a fully-sanctioned sport this year.
“I think they were successful in their own rights,” Ernst said. “I was proud to see the young team that we had in tennis really compete for how inexperienced they were, and the volleyball season just wrapped up Saturday, but the team fought hard, and we were able to get one win in sectional and made a good showing for the first year as an official sport.”
Ernst ranks first in his class with a 4.32 GPA and is set to become the school’s valedictorian. He is headed to Taylor University to major in Finance and has talked to the tennis and volleyball coaches about possibly playing one sport or both.
“The Lord has blessed me in so many ways, and whatever it is that I’m trying to do, I just do it to the best of my ability,” Ernst said.
McMahon ranks sixth in her class with a 4.1 GPA. She plans to attend Indiana University to major in biochemistry and is considering joining the club wrestling team.
“I’m not sure if I’m going to join their wrestling team,” McMahon said. “I’ve been talking to an Olympic weightlifting coach, so I’ve been kind of interested in that, as well. I’m not sure what I’ll do. I’m really considering playing a sport in college, but it’s hard because neither of the sports are D-I sports, and I have to really focus on my degree in biochemistry because my end goal of college is to go to medical school.”
