Summer Dreams: Young Fall River athletes participate in Junior Olympics field hockey event
FALL RIVER — Two Fall River residents received the thrill of a lifetime to experience an Olympic-type atmosphere.
Kathryn Gauvin and Lila Stilley recently participated in the annual AAU Junior Olympics for field hockey at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.
They were among seven field hockey athletes from Massachusetts and 108 chosen nationwide to play in the national games. Nexus (USA Field Hockey's pathway to the Olympics) selected the two athletes.
Stilley's U16 team took home the gold medal, while Gauvin's team received the bronze medal.
Gauvin, a student at B.M.C. Durfee High School, exploded onto the scene as a freshman by scoring an area-best and school-record 36 goals along with 15 assists. Her 51 points were also an area-best.
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She helped lead the Hilltoppers to a 12-4-3 regular-season record and a berth in the state tournament. Gauvin, 15, was named a Southeast Conference all-star and was The Herald News Field Hockey Player of the Year.
Stilley, 14, will be a freshman at Moses Brown and played over six years with Gauvin at the Allegiance Field Hockey program. Her older sister, Mia Stilley, also residing in Fall River, graduated from Moses Brown last year, and is a committed athlete to Providence College as a freshman on the field hockey team.
The Amateur Athletic Union's premier multi-sport event, the AAU Junior Olympics brings together more than 14,000 athletes to compete in 20 sports.
The event provides U14 and U16 athletes with the opportunity to experience an Olympic-like multi-sport competition while enjoying the camaraderie and inspiration from other top athletes in other featured sports.
Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Chezsports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Kathryn Gauvin, Lila Stilley back from field hockey Junior Olympics
