LEE – Lee Academy standout athlete Aarika Ritchie recently garnered the National Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award for her phenomenal achievements in athletics and academics.

The criteria for the honor is based on success in the classroom (35 percent), on the playing field (35 percent), along with citizenship/community service and leadership (15 percent each).

Ritchie, Maine’s only winner, will receive a scholarship worth $7,500, a Milk Mustache Ad in USA Today, which will run June 27 and she’ll attend an award ceremony in Orlando, Fla., later this month where she’ll be honored by past winners Avery Johnson and Michelle Kwan.

Ritchie, a Miss Maine Basketball finalist, led the Pandas to a Class C state title in basketball along with an Eastern Maine championship in soccer this school year. She’ll attend Colby College in Waterville next fall, where she plans to play basketball.