One of the most important things about being a Hillcrest Hawk is our enthusiasm for sports and being a student-athlete. We all know the boys’ athletic program gains the most attention. But our Lady Hawks are cold as ice this season, blasting their opponents away!
To highlight the stars of this season, I interviewed a few female athletes from girls’ basketball, girls’ wrestling, and poms.
I began the interviews with members of the Poms team. I interviewed Isis Baker and Johnay Waller.
Isis became a member of the Poms team about 2 months ago. Within the short time she has been a member, she stated she enjoys it. Isis stated that she enjoys being able to dance and participating in the competitions is the best part. With there being 3 Pom coaches, Isis voiced that her coaches are very understanding, and nice, and they listen to all opinions.
Next, I interviewed Johnay. Similarly, Johnay became a member of the Poms team about two months ago. She went into detail about how the team is enjoyable and very inclusive. Johnay has a very close relationship with her coaches. She stated, “My coaches are nice, but they get strict when they need to be, and they just want to see us succeed.”
After interviewing members of the Poms team, I transitioned to the girls’ Wrestling team and selected two members from the team. I chose wrestling because being a girl on the wrestling team is fairly new, in the 2nd or 3rd year, and is one of the fastest-growing sports in the nation. Previously, if a female athlete wanted to wrestle, she would have to wrestle a boy in her weight class.
To capture what it is like to be a female on the wrestling team, I interviewed Jordan and Isaly Rodriguez.
This school year is Jordan’s first year on the wrestling team, although it has been tough this season, it has been going in a positive direction. Jordan stated with her only having male coaches, she views them as father figures, who are strong and only wants them to try to their fullest potential.
Isa returned to the wrestling team after taking a break for 2 years. Since returning this season she stated that it’s been enjoyable for her by keeping her busy with practices and matches. Isa voiced, “My coaches are strict when they need to be, but I mean that’s what you need sometimes because you can’t have somebody being all nice and sweet when you are supposed to be aggressive.”
After meeting with the young women in wrestling, I interviewed two members of our dynamic Lady Hawks basketball team, who recently had a major defeat against Thornwood High School 58-32!
My first interview was with Mya Hamilton, a freshman who has played basketball for four years. She played basketball in junior high school and is very appreciative of her team and teammates at Hillcrest. Playing basketball is like a passion to her which she plans to continue when she goes to college. Mya stated that her coaches push them and she has grown respect and love for them because of their support.
Kyndell Coleman began playing basketball in the sixth grade and now plays as a freshman. She is a freshman and plays on the varsity team. Kyndall elaborated that her coaches are amazing and work hard to get the team to achieve their highest potential. With a great start to the season, Kyndall has been a leading scorer, often adding double digits to the Lady Hawks’ wins.
Big shout out to all the girl athletes who don’t get much recognition, you are all appreciated.
