HELENA — Helena Capital recognized two senior student–athletes Friday afternoon, naming its 2025-26 Bob Bean and Jude Gleason award winners.
Caden McCullough received the Bob Bean award. June Lay received the Jude Gleason award.
The awards are meant to recognize the most outstanding male and female athletes in Capital’s senior class. To be eligible, student-athletes must have competed in at least two sports throughout their high school careers while demonstrating outstanding character, service and leadership.
“It’s really meaningful,” said McCullough, who competed for Capital’s golf and tennis teams. “I mean, I feel like I’ve done a lot with both golf and tennis, and so it feels good to be seen a little bit and to be picked by the coaches, especially. ... There’s a lot of good kids that go to Capital High, so I feel really honored for that.”
Capital chooses its “most outstanding” senior student-athletes through a vote by the Bruins’ head coaches. The awards are then given to the student-athletes in a surprise ceremony.
But despite McCullough and Lay being in the spotlight Friday, they both took it as a chance to shine the spotlight back on what the Bruin community has meant to them.
“Coming in as a freshman and, like, not knowing how to interact with people and just having a team that were like my automatic friends, it just taught me how much I can love people without knowing them," said Lay, who competed for Capital’s cross country, swimming and track teams.
