Gillett/Suring pair, STAA/Lena player make M&O softball 1st team

The Gillett/Suring and St. Thomas Aquinas Academy/Lena softball co-ops each had players named to the Marinette & Oconto Conference first team after strong spring seasons.

Gillett/Suring senior Madison Vandevelde and freshman Emma Kristof and STAA/Lena junior Chaela Rabas all made the first team.

Gillett/Suring sophomore Autumn Dryja and STAA/Lena freshman Peyton Dorow both were honorable mentions.

Vandevelde earned her first-team honor as an outfielder. In her senior season, she turned in a .310 batting average and .444 on-base percentage in conference play.

The outfielder doubled twice and tripled once among her nine total hits. Vandevelde drove in 10 runs and scored four times.

“I think it is really important to me,” said Vandevelde of the honor. “It’s something I never expected. Not only my team but the conference made me grow as a person, student and athlete. It is such an honor to be recognized by all of the M&O coaches for all of the hard work I put in to get to this point.”

Kristof quickly made a name for herself in her freshman season, batting .559 in conference play to go along with a .595 on-base percentage.

Kristof doubled eight times and tripled twice among her 19 total hits. She drove in 14 runs and scored 10 runs.

She also spent 12⅓ innings in the circle in conference play. She struck out 10 batters.

“To me, making first team makes me feel like everything I worked for all season has paid off,” said Kristof. “It also makes me feel like people are now seeing what I can do on the field.

“Now that I got first team this year, I feel like I have to work harder to get it the next year. It will also motivate me to work hard on the field to get better each day.”

Rabas made the M&O’s list as the top catcher. The junior batted near the top of the team’s lineup and was solid defensively behind the plate.

“Making first team is a huge accomplishment for me,” said Rabas. “It shows that all my hard work in the offseason is paying off.

“This will motivate me for next season as I strive to be on first team again and finish my high school career on a high note.”

Dorow dealt with an injury this season, but she was able to show enough in her time on the field to earn an honorable mention nod as a freshman.

“Making the honorable mention team was really special to me, especially since I only got about half of a season with my injury. It was amazing to receive an award like this.” said Dorow.

“This award and that honor will motivate me to not only make myself better for the upcoming years, but make me aware I’m fully capable of anything — even coming back from an eight-month injury strong enough to receive an award.”

Dryja had a strong season at the plate and also did some pitching for the Gillett/Suring co-op.

She finished with a .385 batting average and an outstanding .590 on-base percentage after walking 10 times. Dryja doubled twice among her 10 total hits. She also scored seven runs and drove in three during M&O play.

Dryja pitched 45⅓ innings in conference play, striking out 23 batters along the way. She earned the team’s only conference win.

STAA/Lena also had one conference win.

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