CANTON -- Hugh C. Williams Senior High School in Canton has named this year's academic top ten.

Those on the list include:

Cherina Cheng is the daughter of Yuchin Cheng and Duan Hua Liu. She has been involved in the music program for all four years of high school, having been a pit orchestra percussionist for the school’s productions of Little Shop of Horrors and The Sound of Music and was selected to be a percussionist in the 2019 NYSBDA High School Honor Concert Band. She is part of Select Chorus and Jazz Band as well.

Cherina has been a member of the Science Olympiad team since her sophomore year and has placed at every tournament she has attended, winning fourth place in Ecology and tenth place in Disease Detectives with her event partners at the past two state tournaments. During her senior year, she also took Introduction to Philosophy at St. Lawrence University.

Outside of school, Cherina has volunteered at the Canton Free Library, SLU Campus Kitchens, and the Church & Community Program and held a part-time job at the library in the summer of 2019. Cherina enjoys reading, photography, listening to podcasts, and keeping her gratitude journal. She will be attending the University of Pittsburgh this fall, where she plans to major in Biological Sciences and study epidemiology and public health.

Naomi Crowell is the daughter of Robin Rhodes Crowell and David Crowell. She has been active in the International Thespian Society, Model United Nations, and the GSA.

In addition to this, she is an inducted member of the National Honor Society. She has also participated in all of the school plays and musicals since her freshman year. Naomi is graduating a year early and also has been active with Acadia Institute of Oceanography for five years. She loves to read books, play with her cats, and bake.

Naomi plans to attend McGill University to study Life Sciences with a specialization in Animal Health and Disease, with hopes to become a veterinarian.

Elizabeth “Lizzy” Davis is the daughter of Andrew and Kathryn Davis. She has been involved in musicals and theater since eighth grade and had several leading roles in shows such as The Sound of Music, Merry Murders of Montmarie, and Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Lizzy is also President of our Thespian Society. She has been involved in GSA for 4 years and has been Vice President of the organization for two years. Lizzy has been involved in Student Council and the National Honor Society, for which she served as President this past year.

She is also highly involved in the music program, playing trombone in jazz and senior band, and has attended the 2020 NYSBDA Jazz Conference in Liverpool. Lizzy has been in Select and Senior choir and has participated in NYSSMA solos.

She was also selected for the 2019 All State Conference for Mixed Choir in Rochester. Lizzy is attending SUNY Fredonia this fall, having been accepted into their honors program, and plans to double major in Theater and Music Education.

Lindsey Frazer is the daughter of Michael and Edith Frazer. She has been on the high honor roll throughout high school and is currently in the National Honor Society.

Lindsey has participated in many art projects in school and the community. She had the winning design for the Canton Chamber Winterfest button, created a yearbook cover, participated in TAUNY art festivals and events, and received the Elks Club student recognition for Art Achievement. Lindsey was chosen to participate in the HOBY leadership seminar in 2018.

She is a dedicated equestrian. She has been riding at St. Lawrence University for six years where she has participated in horse shows, worked in the stables, and volunteered.

This fall, Lindsey will be attending Sewanee, a liberal arts school on a mountain top in Tennessee, to major in mathematics. Sewanee has chosen her as one of seven students of the incoming class to be a Carey Fellow in the Business Honors Program.

Jennifer Haycook is the daughter of Michael and Triva Haycook. Throughout high school, she has played varsity soccer and lacrosse and has run indoor track.

She has also played soccer for the Seaway Valley Blazers Premier Soccer Team based out of Cornwall, Ontario, the Section X Select Soccer Team, and club soccer as part of FC Freeze. For three years of her varsity soccer career, Jennifer has been part of the Watertown Times First Team All North, recognized as the Section X Offensive MVP, three-time Section X All Northern recipient, four-year scholar athlete, and recipient of the Watertown Soccer All tournament award. She is a member of the National Honor Society and FFA.

Jennifer volunteers as a youth soccer coach, for the Canton Pee-wee wrestling program, and as a varsity wrestling bookkeeper. In her spare time, she enjoys waterskiing, fishing, hiking, and playing soccer.

In the fall Jennifer plans to attend Clarkson University to study Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering and to play soccer as a Golden Knight.

Rorie Newman is the daughter of John and Kelli Newman and a current AP Scholar with Honor. Throughout high school, Rorie played JV and Varsity Volleyball, where she spent time as both a Libero and Defensive Specialist, earning Most Improved and Athlete of Distinction her Senior Year.

Rorie was also a member of the Varsity Indoor and Outdoor Track Teams. She competed in triple jump and the pentathlon, her hard work in the latter earning her the Golden Baton Award her Junior Year. Rorie participated in many clubs and organizations throughout her time at Canton. She was a member of the GSA, NHS, Chemistry Olympiad Team, and Whiz Quiz; moreover, she served as Class President for the past three years.

Rorie was also an active participant in Model UN. She earned various awards during her four years of membership: Best Working Paper, Honorable Mention for Best Delegate (x2), and Most Assertive Delegate.

She served as Chair for the General Assembly at two conferences and attended the Central New York Model United Nations Conference both Junior and Senior Year. Through St. Lawrence's Scholars Enrichment Program, during her Sophomore and Junior Year, Rorie took Saturday classes in the Globalization of Pop Culture and Children’s Literature. Outside of school, she was accepted to and attended the New York State Summer Young Writer’s Institute at Skidmore College for two years.

Rorie was also able to pursue her love of Creative Writing through Canton by taking two creative writing independent studies with Ms. Underhill, where she created a Zine of poetry and short stories and began work on a novel. Rorie will be studying Creative Writing at Hamilton College. She hopes to go into marketing and continue writing on the side.

Gabriel Schmid-Doyle is the son of Viola Schmid-Doyle and Brian Doyle. An avid participant in extracurricular activities at Canton Central, he has been part of Whiz Quiz and Model UN for all four years of high school and was a member of the robotics team in his freshman year.

Gabe was inducted into the National Honor Society and Thespian Troupe 259 as a junior. He swam for the inaugural boys varsity swim team as a junior and was an alternate for the swim team at States as a senior.

Gabe has been an active member of Canton’s theater program, both on and off stage, since freshman year. Having a large musical appetite, Gabe has pursued diverse music opportunities during his high school career. He has taken numerous NYSSMA solos on bass and violin and has performed with the senior band, senior chorus, select chorus, jazz band, and jazz combo.

He has also performed in the All-County Vocal Select Choir and Area All State Orchestra (violin) since his freshman year and All-County Jazz Ensemble since his sophomore year. He was a member of the NYSBDA Honors Jazz Ensemble as a sophomore and junior, and as a senior, was the bassist in the Conference All State Vocal Jazz ensemble.

Gabe played with SLU String Orchestra on violin from 2016-2019 and competed in the ONNY Young Artists Competition in January 2020 on the double bass. He also attended the Eastman School of Music Summer Jazz Studies Program in 2018 and 2019.

Walking in the woods, playing music, and hanging out with friends are favorite pastimes for Gabe, who plans on going to SUNY Purchase College and majoring in Jazz Studies.

Emily Schreurs is the daughter of Peter and Marlita Schreurs. She has been an avid member of the school’s Guiding Spectrum Alliance, and she serves as the treasurer for both the Class of 2020 and the National Honor Society.

Emily has participated in Science Olympiad since her sophomore year, medaling in several events at regional competitions and placing fourth in Ecology with her partner at the state competition. She has been an athlete in Girls Varsity Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track. She spent her sophomore and junior summers as a volunteer at the Canton Free Public Library and the Canton Church and Community Center, respectively, and worked as a geometry tutor during her senior year.

Outside of school, Emily has taken piano lessons since third-grade. During her senior year, Emily worked as a research assistant at St. Lawrence University doing research related to neurodegeneration, while taking classes in Intro to International Relations and Intro to Biopsychology at the university.

Currently, Emily plans to attend Colgate University in the fall with potential majors in Biology and Neuroscience.

Kenneth Cooper Stuntz is the son of Cheryl Stuntz and Conrad Stuntz. In his three years at Hugh C. Williams Senior High School, he has played an active role in many clubs, such as Science Olympiad, Model United Nations, FIRST Robotics, and Whiz Quiz.

He has appeared both on stage and off with the Canton Thespians as an actor and as a sound technician. He is the student representative to the Canton Central School Technology Committee and the parliamentarian of the Canton chapter of the National Honor Society. Passionate about chemistry and the environment, Cooper has competed in the ACS National Chemistry Olympiad and the NYS Envirothon, as well as other academic competitions including the MAA American Mathematics Competition and the Pi Mu Epsilon Interscholastic Mathematics Competition.

Along with academic pursuits, Cooper has been active in the school’s music ensembles including Select Choir as a tenor and Jazz Band and Senior Band as a flautist. As an athlete, Cooper was captain, state qualifier, and sportsmanship award winner for both cross country and boys’ swimming.

Cooper Stuntz plans to attend Williams College this fall to study Chemistry, Environmental Studies, and/or French.

Kelsea Whittier is the daughter of Andy and Kristen Whittier. She has been on the high honor roll throughout her high school career taking AP and St. Lawrence University classes.

Along with her high academic achievements, Kelsea has been actively involved in athletics and community service. She was a four-year member of the varsity volleyball team. As captain, she helped lead the team to back to back Section X championships and was named First Team All Northern, Athlete of Distinction, and a Patty Baldwin Award finalist.

Kelsea also participated on the basketball and lacrosse teams winning several Section X championships and was awarded Athlete of Distinction for both sports. Her love of athletics led her to volunteer for four years as a youth basketball coach and write for the Plaindealer Sports Blog.

As Vice President of the National Honor Society, Kelsea organized Red Cross Blood Drives and many other service projects. She also participated in the HOBY Leadership Conference. Her artwork has been selected for the St. Lawrence County High School Art Show and the TAUNY Barn Quilt Exhibit.

Kelsea has been named an AP Scholar and was awarded the New York State Scholarship for Academic Excellence. She will be attending St. Lawrence University as a Momentum Scholar and plans to major in Mathematics.