It didn’t take long to find the three letters of recommendation necessary to be considered, despite a fast-approaching deadline, and less than three months later, Halcomb has been named one of 20 finalists nationwide.
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Halcomb was recognized in a ceremony in his school auditorium Friday with former Cincinnati Bengals tackle Anthony Munoz representing the Pro Football Hall of Fame and officers of the U.S. Army also in attendance. The winner will be announced during PFHOF enshrinement weekend Aug. 6 in Canton, with all finalists invited to attend a host of events there.
“When I looked at the criteria for what the program stood for, Christian hit every single one of those characteristics to a ‘T,’ ” Belew said. “He’s just a total role-model student-athlete, a role-model child for his parents, a role-model kid in our community, everything you want in a student-athlete.”
Halcomb, who is bound for West Point next year, has played basketball and baseball at Hamilton all four years, and he also played on the freshman football team.
He owns a 4.28 weighted GPA, ranks 10th in his class of 553, has been a member of National Honor Society since 2013 and boasts a resume full of awards and positions he’s held recognizing his character and leadership qualities. He’s even served in the Spark Leadership Program as part of the Anthony Munoz Foundation.
“I just try to be a good leader and do the right thing in my community and around my school and try to be a good influence for others here,” Halcomb said. “I really love my school and my teammates and my classmates. They’ve had a big impact on me, and without them and my friends and family, I wouldn’t have gotten this award.”
Halcomb wasn’t even aware of the Award of Excellence program until Belew brought it to his attention.
“It’s just a great program, a great honor,” he said. “I’m blessed to be one of the finalists. I was really excited when I found out, but it really didn’t hit me until today when I saw Anthony Munoz and all the Army officers walk in here and congratulate me. It’s been surreal.”
Munoz said he attends a couple of these ceremonies a year and enjoys meeting student-athletes like Halcomb. In his speech during the ceremony he reflected on the day he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998, feeling humbled, thinking about the individuals who helped him get there and the importance of being a member of a team — all things Halcomb acknowledged before the ceremony even started.
“The core values the Army has and the Pro Football Hall of Fame has, that’s what we’ve taken into this award,” Munoz said. “To have a young man like Christian that not only excels in academics and athletics but community service and as far as who he is as a person, that’s what means so much about this award. We’re not just focusing on one aspect of the individual, but the total person, and obviously Christian fits the bill.”
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