Schreibeis named Gatorade POY

Laramie sophomore earns more honors

By Wyoming Sports.org

The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, recently announced that Laramie High School’s Ariela Schreibeis as its 2007-08 Gatorade Wyoming Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

According to a press release, 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 Schreibeis as Wyoming’s best high school girls’ soccer player. Schreibeis is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced in May.

The 5-foot-5 sophomore midfielder scored seven goals and passed for 14 assists, leading the Lady Plainsmen to a 13-1-0 heading into Thursday’s Wyoming State Soccer championships in Laramie. A returning First Team All-State selection as named by the Wyoming Coaches Association, Schreibeis is a former member of the United States Soccer Federation Under-14 Girls National Team player pool.

Schreibeis has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom and is ranked first in her class. Her school’s student council vice president and an active member of Laramie Choice, a school-based organization founded to combat alcohol and drug abuse. She volunteers as part of multiple community-service initiatives on behalf of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Spanish Honor Society in addition to donating her time as a youth instructor for the Laramie Blizzard Soccer Organization.

“She’s a dynamic ball distributor,” said Laramie head coach Anne Hawley. “Her greatest strength is her ability to control the ball. If she has the ball at her feet, she’s not going to lose it. She gets out situations like no one else in the state. And she’s a great passer. She makes passes that make other coaches say, ‘Wow.’ I’m glad she’s on my team. That’s for sure.”

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. The selection process is administered by RISE Magazine, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Schreibeis joins recent Gatorade Wyoming Girls Soccer Players of the Year Crystal Umphlett (2006-07 and 2005-06, Cody) and Dawn Storie (2004-05, Campbell County) among the state’s list of former award winners.

For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a list of past winners, and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.