One of seven Valedictorians in the Class of 2020, Wells had her sights set on reaching the top of her class as she came into her freshman year. 

“I have a love to succeed which I got from my parents, they always pushed me to do my best and expected a lot from me when it came to my school work,” Wells said. “I always prided myself on doing well in school. The opportunity to learn to me means the opportunity to further my education and create a good life for my future.”

The support of her parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins met a lot to the graduate.

“My family is a big part of my life and to have them cheering me on and pushing me to be my best was very important to me,” she said. “My teachers were always very supportive, they saw what I was capable of and helped push me to achieve that success.”

Wells maintained a 4.0 throughout her academic career, was secretary of the National Honors Society and has received the Presidential Scholarship to Danville Area Community College.

She was also a member of the football and basketball cheer squads, played basketball, softball, cross country and was a member of FCA throughout high school.

Wells was named by part of the Vermilion County Conference team in cross county, winning two conference and two county titles, helped win a Vermilion County Championship with the Comet basketball team and was part of the Oakwood competitive cheer squad that placed 10th at State.

“It is important to get involved in high school because it keeps you active and gives you something to work for,” she said. “It teaches you to work hard and be held accountable for what you are doing.”

Wells will look back on her time at Oakwood fondly. 

“The 2020 school year was amazing, it was flying by just as everyone had said it would,” she said. “Our class was making the most of everything knowing that it would be our last. Homecoming week in general was crazy, lots of ups and downs but it was lots of fun. Our class really made the most of it.”

The last eight weeks have been tough, though. As event cancellations, eventually ending with final weeks of school being canceled, Wells said it really hit home that the Class of 2020 was done. 

“I am glad that we get to do some sort of graduation, I wish that we were able to see all of our classmates but this is all for our safety so it is understood why it has to be done like this, she said. “There is still some hope that we will be able to do prom during the summer as a last get together with our class but everything is still undecided.”

After completing her time at DACC, Wells plans to transfer to a four-year university, although she is not sure what she would like to focus on at this point.

“School is important but it is not everything, as long as you are doing your best that is the most someone can ask of you,” she said. “Your teenage years don’t last forever, have fun while you still can.”

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Five Comets earned postseason recognition on either the Vermilion Valley all-conference team or the Vermilion all-county team.

Senior Katelyn Young was a member of the 10-player first team on both honor squads.

Senior Aubrey Wells and junior Aaliyah Denius were members of the seven-player special mention list on both squads.

Addie Wright, who was selected to the 10-player honorable mention all-conference team, was elevated to the seven-player special mention all-county squad.

The other Oakwood player to earn recognition was sophomore Ashlynn Pinnick, an honorable mention all-county pick.

Denius and Pinnick were team scoring leaders in at least one game. Denius, Pinnick, Wells and Wright all had multiple games where they scored in double figures.

Young averaged a team-best 22.7 points per game for the 23-8 Comets.

The post Five Oakwood girls’ basketball players earn season honors first appeared on SJO Daily.

The past and the future of Oakwood girls’ basketball came together nearly a decade ago.

A promising young player, Katelyn Young, was getting her start in organized basketball as a grade-schooler. One of her coaches was the former Stacie Calhoun, who set Oakwood’s all-time scoring record – for boys or girls – before graduating in 1985.

“She told my parents when I was in grade school that I could score that many points,” Young said.

That many points was a lot, 2,314 to be exact.

To reach that plateau, a player would need to be a four-year varsity regular and average more than 19 points a game throughout her prep career.

Turns out Calhoun was not just a good scorer. She was also a good prognosticator.

In her 119th varsity game on Friday, Young replaced Calhoun atop the all-time Oakwood basketball scoring list.

Her record-setting point came on a basket with 7 minutes, 30 seconds left in a Vermilion Valley Conference game at Danville Schlarman.

 By game’s end, Young had added five more points to her total, finishing with 26 and extending her career record to 2,320 points.

“I didn’t know that (basket) was the one,” Young said.

It wasn’t long, however, before she realized it.

The game was stopped moments later and the Comets’ senior was presented the game ball.

It will join two other balls she has, one for reaching 1,000 points as a sophomore and the other for hitting the 2,000-point mark in the team’s 13th game this season.

When she entered high school, Young didn’t think much about the prediction made by her former youth coach.

“Not at all,” she said. “I didn’t think I would score a thousand.”

Schlarman won Friday’s game 56-51 to clinch its sixth consecutive Vermilion Valley Conference championship.

Oakwood coach Stephanie Marsh wasn’t surprised that Young has achieved at a high level.

“As a freshman, she made an impact on our program,” said Marsh, who didn’t reveal to Young how close she was to the mark entering the regular-season finale.

“She had her focus on playing the game and didn’t want to know the exact number,” Marsh said. “That’s just one more thing to worry about.”

Young has remained an effective scorer as a senior even though her role on the team has changed as she helps Aubrey Wells get the ball up-court.

Beyond that, Marsh said, “she has stepped up as far as being a leader.

“She’s a great kid to have on the team. I can count on her to help with the younger kids.”

Young has maintained a 19.5 scoring average during her Oakwood years and has hit the 20-point mark as a senior in 20 of her 27 games.

She is well-known as the team’s top-scoring option.

“When you’re double- or triple-teamed you have to get creative on what to do to score and get other teammates open,” Young said.

Young has it on good authority that Oakwood’s former career scoring leader is fine with her newfound hold on the top spot after Calhoun held it for 35 years.

“Her daughter (Hayley Mascari) is in my grade and told me her mom wanted me to beat her record,” Young said.

In Friday’s game, Oakwood held a 29-22 halftime lead, but was outscored 19-9 in the third quarter.

Karsen Rupp scored 10 points and Addie Wright had nine for the Comets. Young hit 14 of her points in the first half.

The Comets (22-7) return to action tonight at 7:30 in a first-round Class 2A regional tournament game at Maroa-Forsyth against Westville.

During Young’s varsity career, Oakwood has amassed 98 wins. Young is looking to add to that total.

“If we play our game,” she said, “we’ll have a pretty good chance.”

The post Young becomes Oakwood’s All-Time Leading Scorer first appeared on SJO Daily.

Katelyn Young scored eight first-quarter points and Addie Wright had four in the opening frame on Thursday as the Comets opened up a double-digit lead at home en route to a 46-31 verdict over Salt Fork.

Young tallied a game-high 22 points, marking the 15th time in 20 games she has hit the 20-point plateau as a senior.

Aaliyah Denius contributed eight points while both Wright and Aubrey Wells ended with six points apiece.

The Comets led 18-7 after one quarter and 29-14 at halftime.

Oakwood (17-5) returns to action tonight against Armstrong-Potomac in the 8 p.m. game of the Vermilion County Tournament at Danville’s Palmer Arena.

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Illinois State Scholars must be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen who is also a resident of Illinois. The student must attend an approved high school, take the ACT or SAT between Aug. 1 and June 30 before the third semester of high school graduation, perform in the top one-half of the high school class at the end of the third semester prior to graduation and/or score at or above the 95th percentile on the ACT or SAT. They must also graduate from the high school during the academic year in which they were chosen as State Scholar.

The post Oakwood High School Illinois State Scholars first appeared on SJO Daily.

The Comets opened the season on Tuesday with a 58-35 triumph over Judah Christian in Champaign.

The Comets led 20-4 after one quarter and expanded their lead into a final 23-point margin.

Katelyn Young scored a game-high 26 points and was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Teammate Karsen Rupp had 11 points and the lone Oakwood three-pointer.

Aubrey Wells added eight points, Aaliyah Denius had six points, Ashlynn Pinnick had five and Addie Wright ended with two points.

Oakwood (1-0) will host its own McDonald’s Comet Classic and faces a first-round game at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday against Blue Ridge (1-0), which won its season-opener on Monday 76-1 over Decatur Christian.

The post Young and Rupp lead Oakwood Girls’ Basketball to win over Judah Christian first appeared on SJO Daily.