Athletes earn award fall season

By Swera Sharma, Contributing Writer

Four athletes earned the 2016 Season Athlete award for fall.

Junior Laura Katarzynski has been on the varsity volleyball team all three years of high school and is inspired by her parents and sisters “because they always taught (her) to never give up, and keeping doing what you love.”

“I work hard off season and for my teammates during school,” Katarzynski said, who has been playing the sport since she was 9.

After high school, she plans to attend the University of Northern Colorado to continue her volleyball career.

“The best part is getting to meet a lot of new people, not even about winning and losing because at the end I won’t remember that, I will always remember the memories and people,” Katarzynski said.

Senior Edgar Pani-Nunez has been playing soccer since he was 8 and for the high school since he was a sophomore.

“I would always put maximum effort in practice and games since I was the captain and had to be a leader,” Pani-Nunez said.

Senior Daniel McComb has been on the cross country team as well as indoor and outdoor track all four years of his high school career.

He is inspired by his parents “because they are my role models for working hard and being successful. Every single day, my parents work as hard as they can in order to raise and support me and my two other brothers. It can be hard sometimes for them, but their will to give me and my brothers the best life possible has inspired me to be ambitious in any aspect of my life, especially athletics.”

McComb said that the best part about playing a sport that he loves is seeing himself improve over time and it allows him to put his hard work to use and earn rewards.

Senior Natalie Nelson has competed on the girls swim team since she was a freshman and has qualified for state competition three times.

Nelson plans to attend the University of Northern Iowa after high school.

She says that she is inspired by people around her who succeed in sports and who make her  want to be better.

“The best part about swimming is when you see that you went a best time and that it was all you and your body with no one else helping you,” Nelson said.

Nelson feels that the people who supported the swim team were the ones to realize what a great sport it is and that swimmers do have some talent in the pool.

Junior Jason Gimre has been playing golf since fourth grade and for the school as a freshman.

After high school, Gimre plans to attend a college or university.

“My dad got me to play the sport because he always enjoyed playing so he would bring me along whenever he would play,” Gimre said.

Gimre says that the best part about golf is that it is more individual than other sports.

“Jordan Spieth inspires me because I feel that I can relate to him in a lot of ways and he is a young star which shows the talent he has,” Gimre said.