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Triple Play Triple Threat -- Sami Kay Shafranski, Pacelli

12/11/2014, 6:15pm CST
By Mark Miller

Name: Sami Kay Shafranski

School: Pacelli High School

Grade: Senior

Volleyball Honors: Named first-team all-Central Wisconsin 8 Conference as an outside hitter as a senior while playing for coach Ray Gutowski ... Second-team all-league performer as a junior ... A four-year varsity performer for the Cardinals who was named team Most Valuable Player as a junior and senior ... Helped Pacelli to the league title as a sophomore and second-place finishes as a senior and freshman.

Basketball Honors: Four-year varsity letter winner for Pacelli ... A 5-foot-6 guard/forward for coach Adam Osypowski ... Received honorable mention all-league recognition as a junior .. Team MVP as a junior.

Softball Honors: A four-year varsity letter winner for one of the top small-school programs in Wisconsin ... Led Pacelli in hitting as a junior at .467 while helping the team to the league title and a 20-6 record under coach Ann Molski ... Won CWC 8 titles as a freshman and junior ... Starting center fielder in each of the past three seasons ... Played on the Cardinals' 2012 WIAA Division 4 state championship team ... Team MVP as a junior ... First-team all-state, all-conference and all-area as a junior.

Favorite Sport: "Softball. We all are cheering for each other all the time, trying to help each other do the best we can. I like the one-on-one competition between the pitcher and myself when batting. Most of all, I love making a great catch to eliminate the other team from scoring. It really changes the dynamics and emotions of the game when you take a big hit away from your competition."

Best Part of High School Sports: "Making friends and being part of a team that will do everything it can to win."

Best Advice from a HIgh School Coach: "Relax and have fun from softball coach Ann Molski."

Most Memorable Moment in High School Sports: "State trip my freshman year. In a softball semifinal game against Grantsburg in the seventh inning with two outs and a runner on second and we are leading 8-7, a girl hits a long fly ball to deep left center field. I make a game-saving over-the-shoulder catch to save a tying run. We win the game and go on to beat Poynette in the championship game the next day. I batted over .500 in those games and just had so much fun winning it all. I hope to have that same experience this year."

Best Part of Playing Three Sports: "Playing in so many sporting events has allowed me to meet so many great people and create long-term friendships."

Toughest Part of Playing Three Sports: "The late nights studying for classes and tests."

Favorite Opponent: "Iola-Scandinavia. I played summer softball with a lot of the girls from Iola-Scandinavia. We are all very good friends off the playing surface, but we all compete extremely hard when playing each other. Plus, they are very good athletes. We are friends, but we all are competitive and love to win."

Favorite Professional Teams: Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers.

Favorite Professional Athlete: "Donald Driver. He excelled at his position and was always positive. Even with all his hardships growing up, he turned his life around and was someone to look up to."

Favorite College Teams: Upper Iowa University, University of Wisconsin.

Cumulative GPA: 4.3/4.0

Toughest Individual You've Competed Against: "Jamie Pitt of the Amherst basketball team. She was tall, quick and has a great shot. Basketball is not my strongest sport, but I loved the one-on-one challenges. It is always an honor to be asked to defend the other team's best players."

Most Admired High School Teammate: "There are two -- Hannah Raflik and Christonna Shafranski. Both are extremely competitive and willing to do whatever it takes for the team."

College Plans: "I signed a national letter of intent to play college softball at NCAA Division II Upper Iowa University. I am still deciding if I want to give volleyball a chance as well."

Activities Outside of Sports: Skiing, Snow Boarding, Boating, Tubing, Water Skiing, School Council, Operation Boot Strap, United Way leaf raking, Ring the Bells, Teen Leadership Programs, tutoring program and National Honor Society.

I Find it Relaxing To: "Draw or anything art related."

Favorite TV Show: Friends

Favorite Movie: Frozen or Pitch Perfect

Favorite Musical Artists: Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Michael Jackson

Favorite Subject: Science -- Biology and Anatomy

Favorite Restaurant: Olive Garden

Favorite Website: Instragram

Other Family Members: Jim, father; Lisa, mother; Christonna, Teesa, sisters.

(If you'd like to nominate a senior three-sport athlete from Wisconsin for the Triple Play Triple Threat feature, please contact Mark Miller at wbnews@charter.net).

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