Greene Central High School 2023 senior class Valedictorian Payton Rae Yahner, Salutatorian Natalie Emilia Specht, and Superintendent's Award Recipient Sarah Anne Markham. (Submitted photos)

GREENE – Greene Central High School proudly announced its valedictorian, salutatorian and Superintendent’s Award recipients for the graduating Class of 2023.

It is with immense pleasure that the high school recognizes Payton Rae Yahner as its valedictorian, Natalie Emilia Specht as its Salutatorian and Sarah Anne Markham as its Superintendent’s Award recipient for the 2023 senior class.

Payton Rae Yahner, daughter of Tanya and Paul Yahner, is the valedictorian of the Class of 2023.

Payton has been very involved throughout her time at GCS. In addition to being President of National Honor Society, Payton is the Treasurer of the Class of 2023, the former Secretary of Student Council, and the valedictorian of her class. Payton has also been a member of the Section IV Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Interact Club, Prom Committee, and Yearbook Club, along with being a committed volunteer in her church and community.

Payton has been a dedicated varsity field hockey, basketball, and softball team member throughout high school, and has been captain of all three sports since junior year. Payton has earned the field hockey honors of Scholar-Athlete, All-State, and First Team All-Star, and was named to the Greater Binghamton Elite 11 Field Hockey team. She has earned the basketball honors of Scholar-Athlete, First Team All-Star, the Carl Gaffney Award, and Section IV Second Team. She has earned the softball honors of Scholar-Athlete, All-State, and First Team All-Star. Outside of school, Payton spends her time playing for EYOTA National Fastpitch Softball and Armadillos AAU Basketball, as well as working for her dad’s physical therapy business. Payton will attend Ithaca College in the fall to study Physical Therapy

Natalie Emilia Specht, daughter of Beth and Nicholas Specht, is the salutatorian of the Class of 2023.

Natalie has been involved in many activities during her time at GCS. Currently, she serves as Student Council President, Envirothon President, Academic Challenge team captain and is a member of Interact, National Honor Society and Yearbook. She also swam on the Varsity Swim Team for four years. Additionally, she works as a lifeguard for Greene JRC Summer Camp and the Community Pool. In the fall, Natalie plans to attend the University at Albany to study Public Policy and is considering double majoring or minoring in French or Linguistics.

Sarah Anne Markham, daughter of Janet Markham and Douglas Markham, is the Superintendent’s Award recipient for the Class of 2023.

Sarah has been a hard-working and involved student-athlete. As a member of many clubs, such as the Interact Club, Student Council, Ski Club, Prom Committee, and more, Sarah has volunteered a lot of her time into the school and community. She has also been the Girls Varsity Soccer Team Captain for the past two years and is on the tennis team. Since her freshman year, Sarah has been the Secretary of the Class of 2023 as well as the National Honor Society Secretary during her senior year. At the end of her junior year, she attended RYLA with four other selected classmates. In the fall, Sarah will be attending Rochester Institute of Technology to major in Aerospace Engineering, where she also plans to join many clubs and continue giving to her community.

Congratulations to Payton, Natalie, and Sarah. We salute your achievements.

Graduation ceremonies will be held on Saturday, June 24, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. in the high school gymnasium

– Information from Greene Central High School