More than 50 thousand high school seniors in Florida play a sport for their school.

But only 24 are distinguished enough to earn a spot on the FHSAA’s Academic All-State team.

That group was honored Monday night at an awards banquet in Gainesville. It’s the 22nd year of a program that rewards achievement in athletics, academics and community service.

“I’ve been working so hard for the past four years so it’s nice to be recognized and it’s cool to be part of such an elite group of kids,” Winter Park graduate Emily Nix said.

All the award winners receive a $1,350 scholarship. The two Scholar Athletes of the Year, Vivek Suri from Winter Park and Emily Lyons of Cocoa Beach, get a scholarship worth $5,150.

“I come from a small school and we’re not really known for athletics so it’s really special for me to represent my school here,” said Lyons, who logged more than 700 community service hours and participated in an internship at the Kennedy Space Center during which she worked with NASA’s Vegetable Production System.

Lyons played lacrosse, soccer and ran cross-country at Cocoa Beach.

Suri excelled in the pool as a swimmer and water polo player at Winter Park.

“Going into high school, I wasn’t really sure if athletics would play a big role in my life,” he said. “Once I started swimming and playing water polo, I really fell in love with it and to be here is a great honor and I’m just really excited.”

Nine of Monday’s honorees hail from the Bay Area and Central Florida, including Melbourne Central Catholic valedictorian Maximillian Diaz.

Born in Saudi Arabia to an Australian mother and Puerto Rican father, Diaz rose to the top of the class using cross country and track as his outlet.

“All my peers could be freaking out about big chem test or a big history test. I’d go, do my run and all my worries would melt away,” Diaz said. “I’d just pound out the miles.”

Here are the nine locals selected to the FHSAA Academic All-State team:

Emily Curran, Calvary Christian cross country, soccer and track and field
Maximillian Diaz, Melbourne Central Catholic cross country and track and field
Hannah Lyons, Cocoa Beach cross country, soccer and lacrosse
Jake McIntyre, Bishop Moore football and soccer
Ellen McMullen, Canterbury School swimming, soccer and track and field
Emily Nix, Winter Park cross country and track and field
Dillan Patel, All Saints Academy football, basketball, soccer and tennis
Vivek Suri, Winter Park swimming and water polo
Christopher Thatcher, Bloomingdale golf, soccer and tennis