Granville Central volleyball, soccer standout Ashlyn Smoot named Female Athlete of the Year
Granville Central volleyball and soccer standout Ashlyn Smoot has been named as the female athlete of the year at HighSchoolOT Honors.
The Stem school's senior helped lead the Panthers to winning seasons in both sports, while serving as a captain and major contributor on the field and the hardwood.
In the fall, Smoot helped run the volleyball team's offensive attack as the setter. The Panthers went 16-11 and made it to the second round of the 1A state playoffs before running into Louisburg.
In the spring, she did more of the same, scoring 44 goals and assisting on 27 more to lead the team in both categories by a healthy margin.
Under Smoot's leadership, the soccer team went 13-8-1, but fell short against Princeton in the first round of the playoffs.
"She's got a strong will to be very good at everything she does-- classwork, playing volleyball and soccer," athletic director Ray Noel said.
That will to succeed in all pursuits is evidenced by the fact that Smoot was the valedictorian of her class.
"It's her work ethic," soccer coach Gregg George said of what separates her from the pack. "She came into the season and put forth some personal goals that she wanted to achieve, and she achieved just about every one of them."
Smoot wins this award over fellow nominees Sydney Dowler of Green Hope, Morgan Smalls of Panther Creek, Cydney Johnson of Heritage and Ashlyn Williams of Clinton.
"It means everything," Smoot said. "It's like all of my hard work and everybody that also put into it, it finally pays off."
