MONMOUTH — Matthew Bryant, a 16-year-old member of Boy Scout Troop 654, was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout at a ceremony held recently at the United Church of Monmouth.

The Court of Honor was performed by the scouts and leaders of Troop 654. Matt is the first Eagle Scout for Troop 654 since its inception more than 20 years ago.

Matt joined scouting in the second grade and progressed through Cub Scouts, earning his Arrow of Light before joining Boy Scouts at the end of 5th grade. Since joining Boy Scouts, he has earned 25 merit badges and has held various leadership positions in his troop.

Matt has attended six years of summer camp at Camp Hinds in Raymond. He has logged more than 100 miles of hiking on the Appalachian Trail, more than 50 nights of camping and is working on completing the Maine portion of the Appalachian Trail.

For his Eagle Scout project, Matthew and his crew improved the cross country trails at Monmouth Academy. With generous donations by local businesses and citizens and willing volunteers, Matt was able to improve drainage on more than 600 feet of perpetually waterlogged trail.

In addition to being active in scouting, Matt is a member of National Honor Society and is a leader on the Monmouth Academy math team and academic decathlon team. A three-season athlete, Matt is competitive on the cross country, nordic ski and track and field teams. He will be competing in his first half-marathon shortly and has plans for bigger races. His free time is spent teaching himself to write computer code, and he plans to major in computer programming at college.

This summer, Matt will be attending the World Scout Jamboree in Rinkaby, Sweden with more than 38,000 other scouts from around the world.

Now a senior at Monmouth Academy, Matt is the son of Chris and Kathy Bryant of Monmouth.