Gillett's Kacmarek is a finalist for WIAA Statewide Scholar Athlete Award
Gillett High School senior Carleigh Kaczmarek is a finalist for the 2023 Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association's Statewide Scholar Athlete Award.
Kaczmarek, who carries a 3.83 GPA and has lettered 10 times in cross country, basketball, and track and field, will compete in Division 4 girls with Cristin Casey of Assumption High School, Lilly Geary of Kickapoo High School and Kallie Volk of Three Lakes High School.
The 2023 WIAA Scholar Athlete finalists will be recognized at an awards ceremony May 7 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Wausau. Overall, four boys and four girls were selected in each of the four WIAA divisions.
Kaczmarek has earned eight all-conference honors and was a conference champion in cross country and regional champion in track and field.
In her essay, Kaczmarek wrote about needing mental toughness to balance out the necessary time to study, work out, compete and rest, as well to do other extracurricular activities and have some personal time.
"On many days, I wanted to take it easy or even quit. But quitting was not an option," she wrote. "To reach one’s goals, hard work is the only answer. Using positive self-talk, I continued. Through injuries and failures, I learned to overcome adversity and to work harder toward my goals."
Kaczmarek is a three-year participant in Future Business Leaders of America, Spanish Club and Yearbook Club. She is a two-year member of the National Honor Society and the student council.
She plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
A webcast of the awards ceremony will be available at wiaawi.org after the ceremony. The website also has more information on all the candidates.
Contact Kevin Dittman at 920-431-8416 or kdittman@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Gillett senior Kacmarek finalist for WIAA Scholar Athlete Award
