Allison Wing (left) and Lindsey Clar (right) are the valedictorian and salutatorian of the Class of 2020 at Wheatland-Chili. Photos provided by the school
Classmates in the Wheatland-Chili High School Class of 2020, Allison Wing and Lindsey Clar will be classmates again in college. That isn’t the only thing they have in common though because they both have a strong record of academic excellence which led them to be the valedictorian and salutatorian at Wheatland-Chili this year.
Wing, the daughter of Lori and John Wing of Wheatland, is the valedictorian with a 99.3 academic average. She will be attending Geneseo State this fall to major in geochemistry (a combination of geology and chemistry).
“I love rocks, studying their designs and colors,” Wing said.
Before choosing Geneseo State, Wing also considered Cornell University, University at Buffalo, Clarkson University, Keuka College, Siena College and the University of Ohio. She took several challenging courses at W-C, including Advanced Placement U.S. History, AP Calculus, AP English Literature and Composition and AP Biology and dual enrollment courses in Spanish, Economics and Career and Financial Management through Monroe Community College.
Wing, 18, was also involved in school activities. She was a member of National Honor Society for two years, sang in the high school chorus for two years and was a member of the school’s Gay Straight Alliance this past year.
Outside of school, Wing has been a camp counselor at the Rochester Rotary Sunshine Camp, a junior swim instructor in Wheatland and has been a babysitter and dog sitter for people. For
the past month, she has been working at Rachel’s Mediterranean Restaurant in Henrietta.
Wing has received numerous honors and awards, including an optics award from the University of Rochester, an award from Rochester Institute of Technology, the American Chemical Society Award, the Valedictorian Award, The Etta Fraser Miller Fund Scholarship, a New York State Scholarship for Academic Excellence, the Scott Horr Memorial Scholarship (Sponsored by the Scottsville Athletic Association), a Presidential Outstanding Academic Excellence Award and the United States Army Scholar Athlete Award.
In addition to her other school activities, Wing found time to be on three athletic teams. She played for the varsity soccer team for two years. She was on the team that won the Section V Class C3 title in her junior year and went to the state Class C semifinals. This past fall, she helped the Lady Wildcats to an 18-2 record. Originally a starting defender, Wing showed her willingness to do anythin
g for the team by moving to the goalie spot for the club’s final seven games of the season following an injury to the starting goalie. She made 33 saves in 570 minutes for a 0.842 goals against average and registered four shutouts. For her performance, she was named a Genesee Region League Exceptional Senior, an All-League 1st team selection and an All-Greater Rochester honorable mention. Wing also played varsity basketball for two years. She was a starting center/forward this winter and scored 33 points (tied for fifth on the team) with 109 rebounds (fourth on the team), 13 steals (fifth on the team), 10 assists (fifth on the team) and two blocked shots. She would have been in her first year on the varsity track team this spring. She will compete in intramural/club sports only in college.
Her favorite memory from high school was getting to know her friends better and having fun with them playing sports. Her favorite teacher was Mr. Conklin, her Pre-Calculus teacher.
“He really valued his students,” Wing said. “He could turn a bad day into a good day.”
Asked what she has missed the most the past three months since in-school learning was shut down due to COVID-19, Wing said it wasn’t what she originally thought she would miss.
“It’s strange because I thought what I would miss the most would be the prom and other senior activities but what I missed the most is seeing my friends every day and I missed the atmosphere of the school,” she said. “I learned that relationships with people will remain if you make the effort to stay in touch and my friends and I made sure to stay in touch with each other.”
Clar, the daughter of Kerri and Jim Clar of Wheatland, is the class salutatorian with a 96/97 academic average. She will be attending Geneseo State and is planning on majoring in biology.
“After four years at Geneseo, I would like to get a Master’s degree from a physician’s assistant program,” she said. “With my history being involved in sports, I knew I wanted to go into a medical field and first thought about physical therapy but after some research I decided on being a PA because it would allow me to do different things.”
Clar, 18, visited LeMoyne College and Daemen College because they have PA programs but also wanted to play college soccer so that is why she ultimately chose Geneseo State because it was the best opportunity for her to do both. She challenged herself academically with courses such as Advanced Placement U.S. History, AP Calculus, AP Biology and AP English Literature and Composition along with taking dual credit courses in French, Economics and Career and Financial Management through Monroe Community College.
In addition to her academic work, Clar was very involved in school activities. She was in choir all through high school and played the alto saxophone in the band throughout high school. She was inducted into the National Honor Society as a junior and served as President of NHS as a senior. She also served as President of the International Club and Student Council President. All four years of high school, she was the treasurer for the Class of 2020.
Outside of school, Clar played travel soccer for eight years with the Chili Soccer Club. For the past five years, she has been a member of GPS Regional Soccer team, a premier soccer club team.
Among her honors and awards, Clar received a University of Rochester scholarship opportunity, the Salutatorian Award, a New York State Scholarship for Academic Excellence, the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizenship Award, a Presidential Outstanding Academic Excellence Award, the U.S. Marine Corps Semper Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence, a U.S. Marine Corps Distinguished Athlete Award, a Nellie Mobilio Scholarship Award, a Mike Skivington Memorial Scholarship and Wheatland-Chili’s Female Athlete of the Year Award.
A five-year member of the varsity soccer team, Clar was a co-captain this season and registered 21 goals (second on the team) with 25 assists (tops on the team) from her midfielder spot. She concluded her career with 43 goals and 55 assists, helping the squad win four Section V titles and two state titles. As a junior, she was named the Genesee Region Player of the Year, All-League 1st team, All-Greater Rochester honorable mention and All-State Class C 1st team. This past fall, she was named a Genesee Region Exceptional Senior, an All-League 1st team member and an All-Greater Rochester honorable mention. She was named to the All-State Class C 1st team in 2018 and 2019. Clar has also played basketball for five years. She helped the team to two Section V titles, earning Section V Class D1 All-Tournament honors as a sophomore. A captain in both her junior and senior years, she was the starting point guard and finished second on the team this year in points with 225 (10.227 points per game) with a team-high 137 assists, 133 rebounds and a team-high 81 steals. She was named a Genesee Region Exceptional Senior, an All-League 1st team selection and an AGR honorable mention. She has competed on the varsity track team for six years, winning the Section V Class D title in the 3000 meters as an eighth-grader and as a freshman and Section V Class C titles in both 1500 and 3000 meters as a sophomore. She earned All-League 1st team and AGR honorable mention honors as a sophomore. She will play soccer for Geneseo State.
Her favorite memories of high school center around being able to play sports with some of her best friends and all the team accomplishments. Clar said she could not pick a favorite teacher or coach.
“All of them have made a huge impact on me so I could not pick just one or two,” she said. “I honestly don’t think I would be where I am without any of them.”
The last three months have been tough since COVID-19 shut down school.
“I have missed seeing everyone, teachers and classmates, and not being able to say goodbye and get closure after so many years is hard,” she said. “The biggest thing the last three months have taught me is to appreciate the little things. Usually you feel like you can’t wait for high school to be over, but over the last three months, we have missed making memories that we can never get back, so I have learned you have to cherish the memories you do make.”
