(CASPER) -- Tongue River High School's Rob Johnson was named Wyoming's top scholar-athlete and took home $2,000 in scholarships at the 14th Annual Wyoming Chapter, National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame awards banquet in Casper March 15. Johnson, a three-time First Team All State Quarterback for the Eagles, was one of 12 finalists for the award from across the state.

The son of Mick and Dixie Johnson of Dayton, Rob amassed 5,448 passing yards and 64 touchdowns during his quarterback career for the Eagles. Johnson also excels in basketball and was recently named to his third consecutive All-State Class 2-A team and was the conference player of the year for the second year in a row. Johnson was Sheridan County's 2006 Player of the Year.

Johnson ranks first in his class of 47 at Tongue River High School with a 4.0 GPA. He scored a 27 on his ACT test and is student of advanced placement chemistry. He is a two-year member of the National Honor Society and the president of the Wyoming State Chapter of FCCLA (Family Career and Community Leaders of America).

The Wyoming Chapter handed out a record $20,000 in scholarships at the banquet, which drew an all-time record crowd of 375 people.

As Wyoming's top scholar-athlete, Johnson is now in the running for the NFF-CHF's Western Region Scholar Athlete honors and additional scholarship funds.

The runners-up for the top scholar-athlete award and recipients of $1,500 each in scholarships at the Wyoming Chapter banquet were David Moats of Guernsey-Sunrise H.S., Ray Moore of Sundance H.S., and Kyle Crandall of Evanston H. S. All of the finalists received $1,000 scholarships.

A former Western Region top Scholar-Athlete from Wyoming from 2005, Justin Hopkin who attended Burlington H.S. and who lettered two years as a Wyoming Cowboy, was the guest speaker at the event. Hopkin is now a medical doctor and will establish his practice in Lander after his residency in Denver ends later this spring. Hopkin told the scholar-athlete finalists that they should be proud of their accomplishments and they should not doubt the validity of their achievements. "Remember, no matter what the size of the pond, you're all big fish," he said.

2007 Scholar-Athlete Finalists

Class 1-A

Justin Palm, Hanna-Elk Mountain

David Moats, Guernsey-Sunrise

Class 2-A

Jay Leininger, Burns

Rob Johnson, Tongue River

Ray Moore, Sundance

Class 3-A

Randall Haefele, Wright

Kray Lutz, Glenrock

Class 4-A

Matthew Sebade, Lander Valley

Scott Boner, Douglas

Class 5-A

Matt Cook, Cheyenne Central

Alex Stratton, Cheyenne East

Kyle Crandall, Evanston

Courage Award Winner

Jordon Cooney - Pine Bluffs

Perseverance Award Winner

Firdose Khan - Sheridan