In its third decade of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, Gatorade joined with RISE Magazine to name sophomore midfielder ARIELA SCHREIBEIS of LARAMIE HIGH as its 2007-08 Wyoming Girls' Soccer Player of the Year.
The 5-foot-5 sophomore midfielder scored six goals and passed for 16 assists this season, leading the Lady Plainsmen to a 13-1-0 record entering their Class 4A state tournament first-round game against Rock Springs, scheduled for May 15. 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."
Schreibeis will begin her junior year of high school this fall.