The Milk Processor Education Program and USA TODAY, with help from Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward and Olympic medalist Dara Torres, celebrated last weekend with the winners of the 2011 Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) scholarships. The SAMMY Awards each year recognize 25 outstanding high school senior student athletes across the country who demonstrate excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership, while drinking low-fat milk as part of their healthy lifestyle.

Whether drinking chocolate milk as a post-exercise recovery drink, starting the day with low-fat milk over cereal or grabbing an afternoon latte with fat-free milk, SAMMY Award winners know that making smart choices like eating right and exercising will help them stay at the top of their game in the classroom and their chosen sports. More than 40,000 high school seniors applied this year for the SAMMY Award.

Each winner received a $7,500 college scholarship and starred in a special MilkPEP ad in USA TODAY, which appeared last Friday.

MilkPEP congratulated Rexford Woodbury from Tucson, Ariz., for winning the SAMMY MVP title. Rexford set up a Facebook group to help generate the highest number of votes. For his efforts, $5,000 will go to Feeding America, his charity of choice. Rexford will continue to refuel with low-fat chocolate milk after workouts when he attends Dartmouth University this fall.

Visit RefuelwithChocolateMilk.com to see the full list of winners.

For more information, contact Donna Armstrong, MilkPEP senior communications manager, at darmstrong@milkpep.org.