Pair of Seniors Honored as Top Graduating Athletes at Watertown High School Spring Awards Event
WATERTOWN — A pair of Watertown High School seniors were honored Wednesday evening as the top graduating athletes and recipients of the William I. Graf Award. Samantha G. Booth was selected as the women’s recipients and Jack Adams was named as the men’s honoree this year.
The Italian-American Civic Association created the William I. Graf Award in 1954 to honor Mr. Graf’s leadership and civic engagement in the community. The Northern New York Community Foundation was selected to help continue the Graf family legacy by administering an associated scholarship fund in perpetuity and raising awareness of the award for students who strive to earn the prestigious honor.
Mr. Graf was a multi-sport coach and athletic director at Watertown High School. Graf Award honorees are expected to have participated in at least two or more varsity sports in their senior year and demonstrate exceptional character and sportsmanship, discipline, fair play, training, athletic ability, and academics.
The Graf Award was first presented to both a male and female athlete in 1977; from 1954 to 1976 the honor was only awarded to the top graduating male athlete. From 1954 to 1979, the Graf Award was also presented to the top graduating athletes at Immaculate Heart Academy/Immaculate Heart Central.
About the recipients
Samantha G. Booth is a standout three-sport varsity athlete, competing for six years in tennis, four years in basketball, and two years in golf at Immaculate Heart Central. At Watertown High, she also managed the boys varsity tennis team.
Samantha is a multi-year New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Scholar Athlete.
In varsity tennis, Samantha competed on the Cyclones’ girls team in the fall and managed the varsity boys team in the spring. She is a five-time Frontier League All-Star, a five-time Frontier League Match Champion, a four-time Sectional Semifinalist, a two-time State Qualifier, and a 2024 Division I AA State Qualifier, a first in more than 30 years for a Watertown High player. She also served as a team captain.
As a varsity basketball player, she is a three-time Frontier League All-Star, a CNY Block Leader, a two-time Sectional finalist, and served as a team captain.
On the golf course, Samantha is a two-time Frontier League Match Champion, a two-time Sectional semifinalist and a two-time State Qualifier. She also holds the record for undefeated matches at Immaculate Heart Central.
Samantha was named a WWNY-TV7 North Country Athlete of the Week three times. During her senior year, she served as on the Section III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (Sportsmanship).
Off the athletic field, Samantha is a top-ranked honor student and two-year National Honor Society member, serving as chapter vice president her senior year. A class officer, she served as class president her freshman year and as Student Council secretary her senior year. Samantha participated in numerous extracurricular clubs and activities, including the WHS Cyclones Booster Club and Whiz Quiz. She is also active in her community and church, logging more than 300 volunteer hours over six years with Faith Community Service, and volunteering for the past nine years with the American Cancer Society. Additionally, Samantha was crowned Miss Italia Queen in 2022 and served as a volunteer youth tennis coach.
Samantha will graduate this month with a New York State Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation. She will attend Creighton University this fall where she plans to study psychology on a pre-med track with a minor in behavioral cognitive neuroscience. She will also be part of a research study on Alzheimer’s Disease as a freshman. She aspires to practice medicine as a psychiatrist. Samantha is the daughter of Laureen and Sam Booth, Watertown.
Jack Adams is an accomplished two-sport varsity athlete, competing for four years on the varsity basketball and lacrosse teams. As a freshman, Jack competed in junior varsity soccer and served as a team captain.
He is a multi-year New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Scholar Athlete.
As a junior varsity soccer player, Jack served as team captain his freshman year.
As a Cyclones varsity basketball player, Jack was a team captain his junior and senior years. He earned Frontier League All-Star Honorable Mention his freshman year and was named a Frontier League All-Star his sophomore, junior, and senior years.
In his junior year, he was named to the Watertown Daily Times All North First Team and earned All North Honorable Mention his sophomore year. He was also named to the All CNY First Team his senior year and earned All CNY Team Honorable Mention in his junior year. He was named to the All State Class AA 6th Team his senior year.
He joined a group of seven Cyclones players in the history of the program to reach more than 1,000 points and holds the school record for the total assists through his high school career.
As a varsity lacrosse competitor, he is a three-time Frontier League All Star, earned All Star Honorable Mention his freshman year, and was named to the Watertown Daily Times All North Second Team his sophomore year. As a junior, he was named as the Times’ All North Lacrosse MVP and earned All CNY Second Team honors. He was also named to the All State Lacrosse Class B 6th Team his junior year. Jack was a team captain his junior and senior years
In his junior year he was selected by the Watertown athletic director to serve as a student representative at the Section III Student Athlete Leadership Conference. This year, Jack was named an Academic All American for lacrosse.
Off the athletic field, Jack is a top-ranked honor student and two-year National Honor Society member who participated in numerous extracurricular clubs and activities, including the WHS Cyclones Booster Club, Rotary Interact Club, and the Community Foundation’s Youth Philanthropy Council. He is also active in his community, serving as a volunteer youth couch and a peer mentor for H.T. Wiley Intermediate School students.
Jack will graduate this month with a New York State Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation. He will attend Le Moyne College this fall where he plans to study business and continue his athletic career as a member of the Dolphins NCAA Division I lacrosse team.
He aspires to work in finance. Jack is the son of Amy and Ed Adams, Watertown.
More than 100 graduating high school seniors have received the Graf Award. An all-time list of William I. Graf Award recipients at Watertown High and IHA/IHC may be found at bit.ly/Graf-All-Time-25. Watertown High School’s athletics staff selects the recipients each year, and the Italian-American Civic Association presents the award.
Following the death of Mr. Graf’s son, William A. Graf, in 2013, the family decided to honor him by funding a scholarship award for recipients. William A. Graf, who also embodied the traits of the award, attended Watertown High School, and played several varsity sports coached by his father, William I.
About the Northern New York Community Foundation
Since 1929, the Northern New York Community Foundation has invested in improving and enriching the quality of life for all in communities across Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties.
Through partnerships with businesses and organizations, charitable foundations, and generous families and individual donors, the Community Foundation awards grants and scholarships from an endowment and collection of funds that benefit the region. Its commitment to donors helps individuals achieve their charitable objectives now and for generations to come by preserving and honoring legacies of community philanthropy while inspiring others.
The Community Foundation is a resource for local charitable organizations, donors, professional advisors and nonprofit organizations. It also works to bring people together at its permanent home in the Northern New York Philanthropy Center to discuss challenges our communities face and find creative solutions that strengthen the region and make it a great place to live, work, and play.