High school sports are quintessential to many athletes’ high school experience. Many student-athletes will have the opportunity to accomplish great feats with their team, through local tournaments or district and statewide competitions. On these teams, student-athletes of all levels come together and have the opportunity to grow as players throughout their high school careers.
Teams often have many talented players, however, certain athletes rise to the top to take on leadership roles that demonstrate their skills, dedication, and love for their sport. Teams are typically equipped with two to four upperclassmen captains who represent the team’s values, spirit, and collective goals. At games or competitions, it’s their responsibility to interact with officials and lead the team with their advice, guidance, and positive examples. They also take on the responsibilities of boosting team morale, cultivating strong team bonds, and building a positive team culture throughout the season.
As if these student-athletes don’t already have enough on their plates, many are also involved in other athletics and extracurricular activities. The life of a student-athlete is busy; it requires balance, discipline, and commitment. As the fall sports season comes to an end, it’s important to recognize the exemplary student-athletes who have spent their time contributing to the success of Franklin’s athletics programs.
Franklin women’s volleyball wrapped up their season earlier this fall, coming out of the season with an overall 5-7 league record, which included some impressive sweeps over Benson High School and other victories against Roosevelt and Jefferson High Schools. Guiding the team this year as captains were seniors Isha Shakya, Edie Stanley, and Gracee Simar.
Shakya is a four-year varsity outside hitter and middle blocker, who has been a team captain since junior year. This past season, she was selected as an honorable mention for the Portland Interscholastic League (PIL) All-League team. After high school, Shakya plans to study nursing and hopes to continue her volleyball career by joining a club, or recreational college team. “I know school will be challenging, but I hope to be able to find balance between my studies and things I enjoy, like volleyball,” she says. When she’s not in the gym, Shakya is involved in many school clubs and spends time preparing for her future career in healthcare by volunteering at a local hospital.
Simar has been a part of Franklin’s volleyball team for all four of her high school years, most recently playing for the varsity team as an outside hitter. As demonstrated by her role as captain, she is an exemplary player who has earned special recognition on her team for her outstanding effort, hard work, and leadership on and off the court. Simar is a multi-sport athlete who is also on Franklin’s track and field team where she competes in varsity shot put. Simar’s eight-year-long volleyball career will not continue after this year, as she plans to attend college next year and turn her focus toward becoming an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
Edie Stanley, another one of the team’s three seniors, also took up the role of captain during this year’s volleyball season. She has played for Franklin’s varsity volleyball team as a defensive specialist for three years, taking up the captain’s position just this year. In the spring, Stanley replaces her knee pads for polo shirts and plays for Franklin’s varsity women’s golf team, where she competes in district-wide competitions. Outside of volleyball and golf, Stanley is also a member of Franklin’s Red Cross Club, and plans to study construction engineering management in college next year. As Stanley approaches graduation, she is figuring out how she will continue to feed her love of volleyball. She hopes to continue playing both volleyball and golf, but doesn’t quite know what that will look like yet.
Franklin’s women’s cross country is one of the school’s strongest athletic programs. During each of the last six years, they have made appearances at the state championship meet, and are currently fresh off a fourth-place finish at this year’s state meet.
Leading the team to this year’s great accomplishments are the team captains, junior Liv Fraser and senior Luz Culbert-Nusser. Both have been part of the cross country program for their entire high school career and have been running cross country and track since middle school.
Culbert-Nusser reflects on her time with Franklin cross country with fondness, her favorite memories being all the adventures she was able to take with her team. Like many other senior athletes, Culbert-Nusser is starting to think about what her future in running will look like. So far her post-graduation plans include attending a four-year college, where she says she may join a running club.
The cross-country championship podium isn’t the only place you’ll find Culbert-Nusser, as she is also highly involved in Franklin’s Law and Mock Trial programs.
Fraser still has another season left of her high school cross country career, and with the rest of her time, she wants to continue growing the team and fostering a positive community. Fraser emphasizes how much she values the community of her team and how important the bonds between teammates are to her. “Running is really hard and cross country is a physically and mentally draining sport that would not be possible without our teammates,” she reflects. As for her post-high school plans, Fraser expresses interest in collegiate running, but nothing is decided yet. Between running her dozens of weekly miles, Fraser plays for Franklin’s club ultimate frisbee team, studies violin, and teaches martial arts at One With Heart martial arts and self-defense school.
Franklin’s cheer team has made a name for themselves in recent years. Aside from attending Franklin games to bring school spirit to the student section, cheer also attends cheer-specific events in the off-season. Last season, the team attended the Oregon Cheerleading Coaches Association Championships, where they placed third in the competition. Over this past summer, the team attended the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) cheer camp, where they received a first-place award for their routine, as well as an award for most improved. While their team doesn’t have any designated captains, the team’s seniors act as leaders for the rest of the team. This year’s seniors, Kara Jamieson, Bobbi Bullock-Wilson, and Chloe Bryson, are the perfect people for this leadership role.
Kara Jamieson has been cheering since her freshman year, and these four years of experience make her an invaluable member of the team. Jamieson is a performer through and through, as she’s also a dancer, model, and actor. Her knack for performing is leading her to study business next year in preparation for her future in the film industry. She doesn’t have plans to continue cheerleading after high school, but she says she’ll always have an appreciation for it.
Chloe Bryson, another senior cheerleader, has been on the team for two years. You’ll often see her at football games, flying above the crowd or being lifted into the air by her teammates. After graduation, she plans on attending a four-year university and continuing to cheer.
Senior Bobbi Bullock-Wilson just finished her first and last season of cheerleading, but even in her short time on the team, she certainly made her mark. During this summer’s UCA camp with the team, Bullock-Wilson earned an All-American Cheer award, one of the country’s most prestigious cheerleading awards, awarded to team members with exemplary technical dance and leadership skills. Bullock-Wilson is not only a skilled cheerleader but also an accomplished dancer and performer. Over the summer she attended a dance intensive at one of the nation’s top dance colleges, the University of Illinois, through a scholarship she received from Franklin’s dance program. After high school, her cheerleading career will be over, but she hopes to continue dancing in college. She plans to audition for dance programs at San Diego State University, San Francisco State University, Fordham University, and Adelphi University.
Franklin’s women’s soccer team also just wrapped up their season, and while their record is peppered with both wins and losses, they were able to pull out some substantial wins over Roosevelt and Reynolds High Schools. This year’s team is captained by seniors Kater Shaver, Emerson Porter, and Cassidy Conklin.
Shaver is a three-year varsity player and assumed her position as captain just this year. Her senior season was cut unfortunately short due to an injury, but her legacy on the team far outlasts any temporary hiatus she had to take. Shaver was selected as one of the best players at her position in the PIL, making the All-League First Team during her junior season. As she ventures out into the post-high school world, she plans to continue playing soccer at a club or intramural college level. Regardless of what her future in soccer looks like, Shaver will always look back on her time playing high school soccer with fondness. “Being on the soccer field with my teammates have truly been my favorite parts of high school,” she says.
Cassidy Conklin is another one of Franklin soccer’s strongest players. This season she was selected for the PIL All-League First Team, an honor that recognizes Portland’s best high school athletes. As Conklin moves on from Franklin, she plans to attend a four-year university and says she hopes to play club soccer in the future.
Emerson Porter, the team’s third captain, has been on the soccer field since she was a four-year-old. She’s a seasoned athlete and has been a key component in the team’s success for many seasons. In the true nature of all these talented, dedicated athletes, Porter doesn’t stop when soccer season is over. In the spring she takes to the court with Shaver, where she plays with Franklin’s varsity tennis team. After high school, Porter plans to continue playing soccer, through a club or recreational college team.
Franklin women’s athletics are thriving programs full of student-athletes who are powerful displays of female excellence. These exemplary players are vital to not only their teams, but to Franklin’s community as a whole.
