Athlete of the Month: Hunter Miner

Josh Preston

This month’s Colt Nation athlete of the month is sophomore Hunter Miner.  Hunter plays catcher for the West Jessamine Baseball team, and has to step into the position of a major varsity player this year.  Having played tee-ball since the age of 5, Miner says he was more ready to take on the role. “Catching for varsity, and just being a part of the team as a whole have probably been my favorite parts of the year,” says Miner.  With high expectations placed on the West baseball team since the beginning of the season, Miner says hopefully they can fulfill those expectations.  “Our sights are set on State, which is our ultimate goal this year.”

Hunter says hopefully in the future he could play at the next level. “I think one day I could get a Division 1 scholarship.  I believe that you get out what you put in, so with hard work, I think that a scholarship is a reasonable goal to set.”

Athlete of the Month: Katie Mitchell

The Colt Nation athlete of the month for March is Sophomore Katie Mitchell.  She plays on the West Jessamine Girls’ Soccer team, and is also a member of the West Jessamine Girls’ Tennis team.  Katie is quite the scholar athlete: with a busy sports-life comes a busy academic-life.  “I find it difficult, at times, to balance the two.  For example, when I have a tennis match on the road and then a test the next day, it’s tough.  Sports cut back on the amount of time I have to study.” says Mitchell.

Although success has come to her in both sports, Mitchell says she enjoys soccer more.  “I have the most fun playing soccer, probably because it’s more of a team sport.  In tennis, you play alone or with one other person, and I don’t like that as much since it lacks the team aspect.”

With two more years left in her high school career, Katie aspires to play at the intercollegiate level when she graduates.  “I really hope I can play collegiate soccer one day.  I think it would be a great thing to continue on in my soccer career and just to get a chance to play at that level would be an excellent opportunity.”

Irgang and Little Chart College Paths

Carson Ball

Two of West Jessamine’s senior football players made the decision to take their talent to the next level. Robby Irgang committed to join the University of Kentucky football team as a preferred walk-on. Announcing his decision on February 20^th, Irgang described this experience to be “a dream come true” for him, and hopes that he will be able to make an impact on the UK football program in the seasons ahead.

Derrick Christopher Little also announced his college plans as he signed to play football for Lindsey-Wilson University. Derrick’s signing, which took place on February 11^th, marked the beginning of his journey to fulfill his childhood aspirations of becoming an NFL placekicker. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to kick for the Denver Broncos. And signing to kick at the college level has made that dream seem much more realistic to me.”

December Athlete of the Month

Josh Preston

This month’s Colt Nation Athlete of the Month is Ross “Kitty” Gillispie. Ross is a freshman and played football for his first time this year at West Jessamine. Ross’ season was cut short when, early in the season, he suffered a broken arm in practice. After having surgery for his injury, Ross continued to show up to practice and support his team for the duration of the season. “I definitely feel like I was an encouragement for the team. Don’t quit what you love no matter what happens; even though I was out for the season I didn’t quit,” says Ross of his season ending injury. Ross plans to train and prepare for his upcoming football season in the winter and perhaps run track in the spring.