ENCINITAS — More than a decade ago, Greg and Missy Post received news that all parents fear most.
A phone call on Aug. 9, 2010, informed them that their 18-year-old daughter had perished in a multi-car accident south of Bishop.
Just two months earlier, Greg and Missy’s daughter, Amanda Post, had graduated with honors from Cathedral Catholic High School shortly after winning two CIF gold medals in the girls’ 800 meters and 4×400-meter relay.
To honor Amanda’s life, the Post family established the Amanda Post Foundation to provide multi-year memorial college scholarships to female student-athletes with high GPAs who are running competitively for their college’s track and/or cross country teams.
This year the Amanda Post Foundation is one of the designated charitable beneficiary organizations for the upcoming Encinitas Rotary Wine and Food Festival on Sept. 18 at the Encinitas Ranch Golf Course.
According to her parents, Amanda was excited about running for the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs on a track scholarship, but her dreams never came to pass.
While returning home from a high altitude Olympic training camp at Mammoth Mountain, Amanda had been killed, along with her athletic trainer, John Adams, and a track teammate, Natalie Nield.
Amanda’s assistant trainer, Drew Delis, survived but suffered serious burns and lost a leg. Amanda’s boyfriend, Derek Thomas, also miraculously survived, but was severely burned over 85% of his body.
The current scholarship recipients are young women who exemplify Amanda’s joy for life, her passion for running, her commitment to God, and her continuous drive for academic and athletic excellence. To date, 65 multi-year scholarships and one-year grants have been awarded.
One is 2020 multi-year scholarship winner Skyler Wallace, a graduate of Sage Creek High School who is running for the Lumberjacks at Northern Arizona University. Three more 2021 multi-year scholarship winners include Madeline Minutelli, from Grossmont High School, who is running for the Bobcats at Montana State University; Jordyn Duby, from Point Loma High School and is running for the Crimson at Harvard University; and Alaina Zamorano, who graduated from Christian HS and is running for Baylor University.
