This story is sponsored by: Chili Implement
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
During the coming weeks, MarshfieldAreaSports.com will be highlighting area high school senior student-athletes with our Senior Salute series.
The series continues with a look at the Stratford High School softball team.
*Paige Kolbeck participated in softball each year at Stratford and was involved in a number of other activities during her high school career. She was a member of the National Honors Society, Caring For Others, the Student Council, Art Club and Spanish Club, and the Career and Community Leaders of America, as well as participating in jazz band and Math League. Kolbeck was on the Stratford cross country team her sophomore and junior years, and also played basketball for the Tigers while earning High Honors in the classroom. Kolbeck plans on attending the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the fall to study school health and education.
Kolbeck’s favorite softball memory: “My favorite softball memory would be beating the No. 1 seed after the bus windshield was shattered on our way to the game, and after we won, I dumped water onto Emily’s head (with her permission) because we were so excited. Another would be the night we were helping youth softball players at practice and I fell off the stage and my teammates looked up the security camera footage to record the fail. :)”
*Jessamae Rice was a member of the varsity softball team the past two seasons and was also involved in the CFO leadership council, Art Club, Spanish Club, and received a bronze, silver and two gold medals at the state Forensics competition. Rice also played basketball and volleyball, was in solo-ensemble, coached Special Olympics, and was involved in FCCLA, SADD and her church choir, while earning High Honors for her grades. Rice will be attending UW-La Crosse in the fall to major in elementary education and minor in special education.
Rice’s favorite softball memory: “My favorite memory would have to be that one time when I busted through my tennis shoes (which were my favorite pair at the time), while we were going over bunt coverage. With that incident, we proceeded to end practice a bit earlier that day because we were all unable to stop laughing.”
*Clare Bargender was a four-year member of the Stratford softball program. While earning a 4.0 grade-point average and class valedictorian, she also was involved in many clubs, including the High Quiz Bowl, Math League, Jazz Band, Spanish Club, National Honor Society, Future Business Leaders of American, FFA, and was a team manager for the football team. This year she was secretary for FBLA and also served as a secretary for three years in FFA. Bargender will study accounting and information systems at UW-La Crosse.
Bargender’s favorite softball memory: “My favorite memory as a Stratford softball player is beating Elk Mound, the No. 1 seed, in the regional semifinal last season after being involved in a car/bus accident only a few hours earlier.”
*Jenna Leiders played softball all four years at Stratford while earning a 4.0 GPA and class valedictorian. She was involved in Art Club, FCCLA, National Honor Society, High Quiz Bowl, and SADD. She served as president of the Student Council and Spanish Club this year, and was a member of the CFO Leadership Team. Leiders also earned two state gold medals in Forensics and was honored as a Marawood Scholar Athlete. Leiders will be attending UW-Oshkosh in the fall to major in nursing with plans on becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist.
Leiders’ favorite softball memory: “During my junior year, our team beat the No. 1 seed and also survived a bus crash on the same day.”