West Babylon High School students Kyle Garcia and Melissa Riback have been selected as recipients of the Suffolk Zone Award. Sponsored by the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, the award recognizes one male and one female high school senior from each district in Suffolk County who exemplify outstanding scholastic ability, physical education performance and leadership qualities. The students were honored at a dinner at the Hyatt Regency in Hauppauge.

Kyle currently has a weighted GPA of 99.56 and a physical education GPA of 93.66. During his high school career, he has been a wrestler and a member of the junior varsity and varsity football teams. He is also a member of the LEO Club, mock trial, SADD, SEA environmental club, Blue and Gold Club, and production set crew. In addition, he belongs to the National, National Technical, Math and Science, and Tri-M Music honor societies. Outside of the classroom, Kyle is a summer camp counselor at The Rinx and a performing arts center technician for the district. He is also involved in a number of community service efforts, including organized walks for autism and breast cancer, technical assistance for the school’s World AIDS Day, volunteering for Angel Care, placing flags on veterans’ graves and distributing books to veterans in New York City.   

Melissa has acquired a weighted GPA of 105.52 and a physical education GPA of 98.0, and is currently ranked fifth in the Class of 2015. She has been named a New York State Scholar-Athlete for four consecutive years. She is captain of the spring track and field team, an All-League distance runner on the cross-country team, and captain and guard of the basketball team. Melissa was also recognized as a spring track and field MVP in her sophomore and junior years. In addition to being a member of the Foreign Language Honor Society, she has received the Principal’s Award for gym, home and careers, and Spanish. Melissa is also involved in a number of community service efforts, including Score for a Cure to raise breast cancer awareness, the Autism Awareness Day track meet and Entenmann’s Tri-ing for Kids Run, where she has handed out water bottles and medals to winners. 

The district and athletic department congratulate Kyle and Melissa on this outstanding accomplishment.