The voting results are in for Hood River Valley High School’s Athletes of the Month for January. Kicking off the new year are four student-athletes who embody hard work and passion both in the classroom and in their respective sport. The following are summaries of each written by the athlete’s coaches.
Faith Ocheskey is a 3.9 GPA junior and competitor on the Girls Swim team, where she was a team captain. Faith had great attendance and raced hard every time she dived into the pool. She improved a lot as the season progressed, and in January was able to really shine and show what she can do; she won all but one race in the entire month. Faith was honored with a Golden Kickboard Award earlier this season and she was a constant support of the team in every way she could be. Faith qualified for the state meet in two individual events and two relays, the maximum entrants allowed, and finished fourth and ninth in her individual events and fifth and seventh in her team events.
Elena Kroll is a 4.0 GPA senior and competitor on the Girls Wrestling team. She is a three-sport athlete (volleyball and lacrosse) and team captain of the wrestling team. Elena was ranked second in the state with a 34-3 overall record approaching the state meet. She had won four major wrestling tournaments during the season and was the runner-up at the state meet. She is a kind person and a dedicated student-athlete.
Luke Southall is a sophomore student with a 4.0 GPA and a member of the Boys Swim team. Luke improved greatly during this season and qualified to swim at state in one individual event and on two relays. He had a positive attitude and was an incredible support to our team. He earned a Golden Kickboard Award for his efforts and sportsmanship during the season. Luke scored 70 points for the team in the month of January; only one other swimmer on the boys team scored more points than him in that month. He also taught our free swim lessons in January and one of the special needs boys took a real liking to Luke; the smile on the little boy’s face when he would see him was priceless.
Cody Durham is a junior and athlete on the Boys Wrestling team. Cody qualified for the state wrestling meet after placing second at the district regional tournament. He is involved in FFA leadership and is a kind, respectful young man who works hard to accomplish his goals and encourages his team to strive for theirs.
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