Martone Award winner Sawyer Olson of Garden City also an academic standout
Garden City's Sawyer Olson poses with awards on Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury. Credit: George A Faella
Perfection seems to be something that has followed Sawyer Olson.
The senior Garden City lineman recorded a perfect score of 36 on the ACT and followed that with helping his team complete its third straight undefeated season and win the Long Island Class II championship on the gridiron.
Olson, who played left tackle and defensive line, can add another accomplishment to his resume after winning the Martone Award as the county’s top lineman from the Nassau County High School Football Coaches Association.
“It’s a great honor, best lineman in Nassau County,” Olson said. “To be named All-County was good by itself but this award, it’s a testament to the hard work and dedication I’ve been putting into football paying off.”
That hard work hasn’t been easy. Olson balances a rigorous schedule to excel in the classroom and on the field. He will be playing college football at a top academic school, but he hasn’t decided on a specific school yet.
“It’s tough to balance the academics with the football but I get it done,” Olson said. “It’s really tough to excel in both areas but you really just have to balance your schedule really well.”
Olson, a 6-2, 215-pound senior, said he uses his speed to his advantage on the field. He said he got “tossed around” at practice as a sophomore and junior and hit the weight room harder this offseason to build his strength to go with his quickness.
“He’s in such good shape that he never takes a play off,” coach Dave Ettinger said. “He plays every down. If it’s a 10-play drive on offense, he’s going right back out there on defense and he’s really prepared his body to really endure that level of intensity on both sides of the line.”
Olson remembers the feelings of accomplishment that came when he opened his computer and saw the perfect ACT score. He had those similar feelings at Hofstra after Garden City defeated Bellport, 28-0, for the Long Island Class II title. But Olson knows the ACT score can help his future.
“It was amazing, it was almost as good of a feeling as winning something like the LIC because I know that score alone will help me get into a better college,” Olson said. “Looking at the rest of my life, that might have been an even bigger accomplishment than winning the LIC.”
