For four seasons, Royal senior lineman Abel Garcia proved his durability for the state champion Knights.

Now, he is being recognized for his success in the classroom and beyond.

Garcia on Thursday was named the male recipient of the WIAA’s 14th annual $5,000 Smart Choices Scholarship. Hermiston’s Catherine Doherty won the award on the girls side.

“The students recognized through the Smart Choices Scholarship program represent the very best of what education-based athletics can offer,” WIAA executive director Mick Hoffman said in a release. “This year’s recipients have demonstrated immense resilience, strong character, and dedication to their communities. We’re excited to see how they carry these qualities toward their future goals.”

This past fall, Garcia joined six others as the only players to start all four seasons for the Royal football team. With the Knights' sixth straight Class 1A championship, he became the first Knights player to start for four title teams.

The 5-foot-10, 285-pound center was an all-state selection, and earned first-team all-SCAC honors as a senior. He was an all-conference second-teamer as a junior, and garnered second-team all-SCAC East recognition his first two seasons.

“He’s a very deserving young man,” Royal’s Hall of Fame football coach Wiley Allred said. “Very smart, dependable and strong on our football team. He was an outstanding leader on our team.”

Garcia, who joined Eric Cooley (1964-67), Jerry Allred (1967-70), David Nielsen (1979-82), Rick Mianecki (1984-87), Cristian Fernandez (2009-12) and Kaden Jenks (2013-16) as four-year starters for the Knights, also is a standout for Royal’s track and field team, with discus and shot put marks that are top-five in the conference.

Bound for the University of Washington with plans to major in physics and pursue a career in aerospace, Garcia also was involved in student government, and helped form Fiesta Royale, which celebrates Mexican heritage.

College Place’s Lucinda Weaver, a volleyball, basketball and track standout for the Hawks, was chosen as one of $1,000 scholarship recipients.

Weaver has committed to play basketball at the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo.