Las Cruces Teen Wins SUV

She’s not yet old enough to drive, and she already owns her own set of wheels.

Madalyn Sprague, 14, won the top prize at the Las Cruces Public Schools Count Me In attendance contest: a 2007 Suzuki Grand Vitara.

Students from all four Las Cruces high schools who had an attendance rate of 90% or higher during the Fall and Spring semesters of the 2009-2010 school year qualified to enter the drawing. The wholesale value of the vehicle is $9,000.

The 2nd annual event took place Wednesday afternoon at the Field of Dreams.

A shocked Sprague couldn’t believe superintendent Stan Rounds pulled her name out of the drum. She is a 9th grader at Mayfield High School and doesn’t own a learner’s driving permit.

Sprague joked that the biggest challenge would be to keep her older sister from driving her new SUV.