WESTOSHA CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED
GATORADE® WISCONSIN SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (June 2, 2016) — In its 31st year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Kayla Konwent of Westosha Central High School as its 2015-16 Gatorade Wisconsin Softball Player of the Year. Konwent is the first Gatorade Wisconsin Softball Player of the Year to be chosen from Westosha Central High School.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Konwent as Wisconsin’s best high school softball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year award announced in June, Konwent joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Alicia Hollowell (2000-01, Fairfield HS, Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.), Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.), Angela Tincher (2002-03, James River HS, Va.) and Kenzie Fowler (2006-07, Canyon del Oro HS, Ariz.).
The state’s returning Gatorade Player of the Year, the 5-foot-10 senior catcher had led the Falcons to a 23-4 record and a berth in the Division I, Section 5 Tournament semifinals at the time of her selection. Konwent owned a .529 batting average with six home runs and 32 RBI through 27 games. A two-time Division I Player of the Year, she drew 45 walks in 99 plate appearances while collecting six doubles and scoring 25 runs. She entered the sectional semifinals with a .747 on-base percentage and a 1.000 slugging percentage.
Konwent has maintained a weighted 3.60 GPA in the classroom. A member of the Future Business Leaders of America, she has volunteered locally as a youth softball coach.
“Kayla Konwent is dangerous in every aspect of the game,” said Steve Remington, head coach of Elkhorn High. “She hits for power and knows the strike zone well. Her defensive skills are top notch and imposing to her peers and coaches that face her.”
Konwent has signed a National Letter of Intent to play softball on an athletic scholarship at the University of Wisconsin beginning this fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
Two-time winner Konwent joins Gatorade Wisconsin Softball Players of the Year Abby Klopp (2013-14, Baldwin-Woodville High School), Nicole Newman (2012-13, La Follette High School), Kristen Wood (2011-12, Wilmot Union High School), Lauren Danner (2010-11, Kaukauna High School), McKinzie Freimuth (2009-10, Kaukauna High School), Claudia Harke (2008-09, Kimberly High School), Alyssa Roberts (2007–08, Bradford High School), and Stephanie Schmikla (2006-07, McFarland High School) among the state’s list of former award winners.
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