Stanhope Elmore girls soccer seniors earn scholarships, awards after playoff match

Two days after Stanhope Elmore fought St. Paul’s to a 1-1 halftime tie in Mobile, five girls soccer seniors were back in Millbrook collecting awards that could translate into real tuition savings for their families.

The biggest financial lift came with goalkeeper Ramsey Grimes, who will attend the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Grimes received the UA Competitive Housing award, the Alabama Prestige Scholarship, the John A. and Laura P. Carriger Scholarship, the Julia and Arnold Teks Endowment Scholarship, the UA Leadership and Achievement Scholarship, plus DYW and VWF awards and a Junior Ambassador award. At Alabama, the Prestige Scholarship covers four years of tuition and first-year housing, making it the kind of package that can change the cost of college from the first semester to graduation.

Madelyn Espy, a six-year varsity player, will attend Auburn University after earning the Spirit of Auburn scholarship along with several additional awards. Sarah Grace Nickerson is also headed to Auburn and picked up the Spirit of Founders Academic Scholarship, the Millbrook Men’s Club scholarship and the Reverend A.W. Watkins Scholarship. Auburn says first-year students may qualify for merit-based, need-based and departmental scholarships through its financial aid and scholarship system, giving both players a path to stack school and community aid.

Emily Peterson, one of Stanhope Elmore’s captains, is Auburn-bound as well. She received the Montgomery Area Military Officers Scholarship Foundation award, the Maxwell-Gunter Spouses Club scholarship and the Reverend A.W. Watkins scholarship, with more awards still pending. For a family watching the numbers, those honors matter as much as any stat line from the postseason.

Maria Almendarez also was recognized with a Junior Ambassadors scholarship and a school math award. She plans to study marine biology, another reminder that the program is feeding college pathways beyond athletics alone.

Stanhope Elmore held its annual Senior Award Ceremony on April 30, 2026, recognizing academics, leadership, service, departmental awards, college scholarships and graduation cords. That fits the school’s National Honor Society mission, which emphasizes scholarship, service, leadership and character. Coming during the second round of the AHSAA girls soccer playoffs, the recognition showed that Stanhope Elmore’s postseason story is not only about results in Mobile. It is also about turning athletic participation into academic leverage, one senior at a time.