Positive Athlete Mountain Region

From competing on the field to being celebrated from it. ⚽️

Our 2026 Positive Athlete Colorado soccer award winners Emily Peterson, Mario Duran-Orozco, and Megan Waters were recognized at a Denver Summit FC match for the leadership, character, and impact they bring to their teams and communities.

Thank you to Denver Summit FC for giving these three deserving student-athletes a special moment in front of Colorado’s soccer community.

10 student-athletes. 10 one-of-a-kind stories.
Stay tuned. 08.05.26

A new kind of All-American roster is about to drop. Meet them on 08.05.26.

Positive Athlete and the USA Basketball Foundation will recognize 10 high school basketball student-athletes from across the country, five girls and five boys, whose character and impact stand out beyond the scoreboard.

Get courtside for the reveal: https://www.positiveathlete.org/all-american-team

The celebration continues! Our 2026 Positive Athlete Colorado baseball and softball award winners got their moment at the ballpark. Big congrats to Tim, Dixie, and Carson, and a huge thank you to the Rockies for recognizing our award winners on the field, and giving them a night they will not forget! ⚾️

What a powerful day honoring Colorado student-athletes at the Positive Athlete Colorado Awards Experience. 🏆

We are so grateful to our partners and donors for helping make this celebration possible and for standing behind a mission that recognizes character, resilience, leadership, and positivity in action.

To the families, coaches, schools, and nominators, thank you for believing in these young leaders and helping their stories be seen. And to our award winners and every nominee across Colorado, congratulations. Your impact reaches far beyond the game, and your example continues to lift up teams, schools, and communities across the state.

We’re very excited to announce our winners of the 2026 O.P.E.R.A.T.E. Scholarships in the Mountain Region! These scholarship awards are very special to us, because these are OURS!

Our O.P.E.R.A.T.E. scholarships are given to a female and male athlete who O.P.E.R.A.T.E.S. with all Seven Definitions of a Positive Athlete on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
This year’s male winner is

Lincoln Ames Olympus High School | UT
Lincoln Ames was raised by a single mother supporting three kids on one income. He responded by building things for others.

He co-founded Scone Sunday, a weekly youth gathering that has met every Sunday for four years serving over 50 teenagers, and founded his own window-cleaning business after excelling in door-to-door sales and being tapped to recruit, train, and manage a sales team across multiple states.

On the field, he set the Olympus High single-season sack record with 19.5 sacks and earned 5A First Team All-State honors before tearing his ACL and meniscus in the same season — three days before his twin sister broke her back at cheer practice.

He learned that real strength isn’t measured by sacks or statistics. It’s no wonder their family motto is “We are more than athletes.”

Let’s celebrate Lincoln for representing male Positive Athlete nominees in the Mountain Region!

We’re very excited to announce our winners of the 2026 O.P.E.R.A.T.E. Scholarships in the Mountain Region! These scholarship awards are very special to us, because these are OURS!

Our O.P.E.R.A.T.E. scholarships are given to a female and male athlete who O.P.E.R.A.T.E.S. with all Seven Definitions of a Positive Athlete on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
This year’s female winner is

Charlotte Gould Corona del Sol High School | AZ
Charlotte Gould was born with a cleft lip and palate, and grew up in a world where not a single Disney princess had a scar on her face. She decided to change that. At seven, she founded Stitches by Charlotte, handmade surgery companion dolls designed so children can add stitches to match their own medical journey. She has donated over 500 dolls to pediatric patients across the Phoenix area, watched kids carry them into operating rooms a little braver, and built an annual Teddy Bear Picnic connecting cleft families across Arizona.

As President of the Phoenix Children’s Hospital Teen Council, she led a fundraiser that raised $80,000 for behavioral health. She then took her fight to Washington, testifying before Congress for insurance protections for cleft patients nationwide. Charlotte cheers for her school. She has spent her life cheering for everyone else.

Let’s celebrate Charlotte for representing female Positive Athlete nominees in the Mountain Region!

Today, we’re delighted to recognize our award winners in the Mountain Region from the Dakotas! These award winners raise the bar every day around their campuses:

Landon Mitchell, Shanley HS, Football, Track, Basketball
Landon Mitchell owns his junior year mistakes without excuse. What followed was a senior year defined by encouragement, a near-4.0 GPA, and a maturity his teammates, teachers, and coaches all noticed.

Elizabeth Pinke, Northwood HS, Golf, Track, Basketball
Elizabeth Pinke watched her brother, an NCAA Division I tight end, respond to paralysis with grace. She took notes. Refusing to have a bad day isn’t a phrase for her. It’s a philosophy she lives.

Owen Serck, Alcester-Hudson HS, Wrestling, Football, Track
Owen Serck leads with a simple idea — leave it better than you found it. At Alcester-Hudson it spread from him through the entire athletic program. That’s what real leadership looks like.

Isabella Engstrom, Leeds Public School, Basketball/Volleyball
Hashimoto's disease and alopecia changed Isabella Engstrom's diet and her role on the team. She adjusted, helped win a state basketball championship, and then went and talked to younger students about it. She graduates as class valedictorian.

Be sure to continue following along as we recognize more winners from the Dakotas later today! More Mountain Region markets to be announced later this week!

Next up, we are recognizing additional outstanding award winners from the Dakotas! Get to know these exceptional nominees:

Jocelyn Berg, Red River HS, Softball 2025 Gatorade Softball
Player of the Year in North Dakota. 4.0 GPA. Band. Orchestra. Youth pitching coach. Jocelyn Berg doesn’t choose between athlete and everything else. She just is everything else too.

Carson Burns, Philip HS, Football, Basketball
Carson Burns grew up on a four-generation family ranch and carries that into how he leads. His coach says when teammates make mistakes, Carson never tears them down. He just helps them back up.

Elizabeth Fedje, Valley-Edinburg HS, Wrestling, Volleyball,
Track State champion. All-State. Multiple track titles. Two knee injuries. Elizabeth Fedje captains three sports and spends the rest of her time in nursing homes, food missions, and coaching youth volleyball.

Tony Evenstad, Northwood High School, Athletic Director
Tony Evenstad doesn’t just administer. He shows up, handles problems directly, and treats every student-athlete at Northwood like they are his own. His coaches know they are backed.

That concludes our Dakotas winner announcements! We’ve got plenty ahead, so follow along with us as we continue to celebrate incredible winners from the Mountain Region this week!