Although the varsity softball team fell short in the semi-finals of Districts, that didn’t stop individuals on the team from shining. The team had four amazing players get All-District and All-Conference honors. Sophomore Laurali Thomas shined bright this year bringing home many awards. She got 1st team All-Conference, 1st team All-District, and topped it off with 1st team All-Region for infielding.
“It feels very rewarding to know that all the hard work that I’ve been putting in from freshman year to sophomore year has been paying off,” said Thomas. She is still waiting to figure out if she will be getting an all-state recognition.
Senior Meghan Aceves showed out just as much. She was honored as 1st team All-District and 2nd team All-Conference both for outfield. Aceves has been playing softball for eight years and feels that these honors come from her experience.
“It shows the hard work that I’ve put in for years,” she said.
The awards didn’t stop at Thomas and Aceves. Junior Lamia Linson’s focus this season was to keep her head straight and focus on what she needed to do to earn at least one honor. Not only did she get 1st team All-District, she also got 2nd team All-Conference both for catching.
“I think my coaches are a really big aspect, they are very positive. They give me the opportunity to get the accolades I want to achieve so they gave me the opportunity and did the things necessary for me to reach the goals that I wanted to,” said Linson. She plans to keep working hard for club season and hopefully find a college to commit to for softball in her future.
The last outstanding player was sophomore Rainey Simmons. Simmons earned 1st team All–District as well as 2nd team All-Conference for pitching. She put in a lot of effort and work outside of practice to be the best player she could this season. This hard work was shown when she threw the first no hitter in SCHS history while pitching against the St. Louis Patriots.
“I feel good, I feel like I worked really hard during the season to get these [honors],” Simmons said.
She has played softball since she was 6 years old and hopes to continue playing in college with a scholarship.
Coach Dave Jones played a big role in helping these girls achieve their goals this season. Jones is very happy for them and the season that they put together this year.
“It’s like when you have a member of your family gets something good happen to them… it just makes me feel very proud of them,” he said. Although Jones is only their coach for part of the year, he makes sure they work their hardest and get better when around him.
