Triple ‘A’ state award winner is second in his family to earn the honor
Just a little over a year ago, Tracy Area High School senior Trevor Smith’s car was broadsided by a charging semi and pushed into a ditch as he was going to his home in Balaton from Tracy after school.
Trevor didn’t walk away from the scary scene, but his injuries weren’t severe enough to keep him in the hospital very long. Even so, the accident did put his immediate future in question.
“The day after, when I started remembering things, I thought, ‘Wow, this could’ve been it,’” Smith said. “I could’ve been killed, or not be able to move. It’s kind of crazy honestly — the thought of never being able to play sports again or do everything normally, that was scary. After a while, it just kind of settled in that I’m going to be OK.”
Turns out, better than OK. Today, the only remnant of the accident is a slight crook in his smile, a result of his Bells Palsy, and Smith has more than made up for lost time. He earned All-State, All-Conference and All-District honors in football, and in January, weeks after scoring his 2,000th point, he passed his brother, Spencer, on the all-time Panther boys’ basketball scoring list, setting a record that’s as close to being unbreakable as any.
More post-season accolades followed the basketball season, and now, after one-upping his brother on the court, he matched his big sister, Cassidy, off it by earning the Class A state Triple “A” award — an honor given to one girl and one boy from Class A and Class AA schools, each who will receive a four-year $1,000 college scholarship. Cassidy earned her honors in 2019.
All 32 Triple “A” finalists participated in an on-court ceremony during this past weekend’s Class AAA championship game of the Boys’ Basketball State Tournament and attended a banquet where the winners were announced.
The Academics, Arts, and Athletics Award, commonly known as the Triple “A” Award, honors high school seniors throughout the state who have a 3.0 or higher-grade point average and who participate in League-sponsored athletic and fine arts activities.
‘A’ “I kind of just smiled” when they said my name, Smith said. “I thought, ‘OK, I guess it’s real.’ Some of the other kids, it’s incredible what they’re doing in school. But whoever picked the application thought I deserved it, so …” The son of Bryan and Debbie Smith, Smith competes in basketball, baseball, football and clay target. Smith is a multi-year member of both the band and choir and was part of the large group that earned a Superior rating for three years running in each. He also carries a 4.051 GPA as a member of TAHS’s Chapter of the National Honor Society.
Smith said juggling academics, sports and other activities has come naturally to him because he knew from watching his siblings grow that his parents would hold him to the highest of standards.
“They always pushed me to do my best,” he said. “It kind of becomes almost secondnature after awhile. You’re not expected to do it, you’re just supposed to do it. If you use your time wisely and do so meshing correctly you don’t have to do it a second time.”
He also couldn’t help but being influenced by his over- achieving older brother and sister.
“It was fun to chase Spencer in sports, same way with Cassidy,” he said. “She did it, and you can’t do better than this — she can’t hold it over my head.”
The record-setting Smith has earned countless medals, plaques and awards over the last four years, but that, he said, isn’t what he’ll remember the most when he someday looks back on his high school days.
“I would say having good relationships with everybody,” he said. “Sports is just an add-on to everything; the relationships I’ve made with kids in the school and teachers in the school … sports end at some point, but relationships can last forever. Having people to fall back on and rely on if you need help with something is important to me.”
For all his accolades, Smith frustratingly has yet to be part of something bigger than himself, name a trip to a state tournament. Despite being part of some really good teams, none have been able get to that next level.
“Football, we’ve been solid forever, basketball we just always seemed to have that one little hump that we just couldn’t get over,” he said.
If he could give a message to today’s younger students, Smith said it would include being a good person and making solid decisions.
“The coaches and teachers always talk about not hurting yourself by doing things that will get you in trouble,” he said. “Have a good relationship with your teachers, because if you do, they’re always willing to help you. If you hurt your reputation, teachers aren’t going to look at you the same. They’ll help you, but they might not look at you the same; you want to be a kid that they can trust. Just being a good person and not causing problems.”
Smith is likely destined for South Dakota State University after high school and will major in agronomy with a minor in precision ag. He said he might try to join the football team as a walkon.
