MATT VOLZ
Sports Editor
As sports fans, we all have our idols.
Many of us grow up worshiping certain athletes and we carry that into our adult lives.
Some sports heroes are obvious, like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Tom Brady or maybe even a coach like Vince Lombardi.
But in a sports world that’s often dominated by men, prominent women can sometimes be overshadowed.
They’re certainly not overlooked by young women in sports, however, as many young female athletes look up to the ones who have gone on to make names for themselves.
The growth of women’s college basketball in recent years has produced several role models for women and young girls to look up to.
Caitlin Clark, for example, has shattered basketball records at not only the University of Iowa, but nationwide.
She’s regarded by many as one of the greatest college basketball players to ever play the game, men’s or women’s.
But it isn’t just her scoring ability that makes her a role model.
“Not only is she the leading scorer [in women’s college basketball history], but [she] also leads in assists which shows she isn’t a selfish player,” said Grace Alexander, a freshman on Fredonia’s women’s basketball team.
It’s pretty common to see athletes looking up to Clark, as her popularity has soared over the last couple of years.
But besides her, who else do Fredonia’s female student-athletes look up to?
Several of them look up to successful women within their own sport.
Emma Abrahamson is a former cross country and track and field athlete at the University of Oregon, and since then she’s become a YouTube influencer with nearly 70,000 subscribers.
Her channel focuses on running and promoting a healthy lifestyle.
“One of her main mottos is that running is for people in every body shape and size, and she is a strong advocate for runners fueling their bodies for success,” said Holly Rohrbach, a junior on Fredonia’s women’s cross country and track and field teams.
Valerie Cagle is a softball pitcher at Clemson. Last season she was named by numerous outlets as the top college softball player in the country, setting a program record for the Tigers with 83 hits.
“She is an outstanding student-athlete who performs and delivers,” said Mack Celauro, a sophomore on Fredonia’s softball team. “I aspire to contribute to my team as she does for hers.”
Although role models are typically thought of as athletes, a good coach can also be a figure to look up to.
Multiple Fredonia lacrosse players have highlighted their coach, Tori Poffenberger, as someone they admire.
“Having a coach that you can relate to and having achieved your goals is such an inspiration because she is giving you the steps to achieve greatness just as she did,” said Alyssa Vukosic, a sophomore on the lacrosse team. “Having a strong female leader on and off the field is something we as a lacrosse program are so incredibly lucky to have.”
Noelle Mendez, a sophomore on Fredonia’s lacrosse team, also looks up to her coach.
“To know her is to know her passion for the game,” Mendez said of her coach. “She is disciplined, resilient and insanely talented. She is also kind, patient and extremely empathetic.”
Mendez said she also looks up to leaders on her own team, specifically mentioning senior Sydney Buchko.
“When you need someone to get something done, you put Syd in,” she said. “She is versatile all over the field and is the most humble athlete I have ever met.”
Some Blue Devils admire successful female athletes who have overcome significant adversity to get where they are today.
Alexandria Visconte, a sophomore on Fredonia’s women’s swim and dive team, says she admires Jessica Long, a Paralympic gold medalist who first won gold at the age of 12.
Long was adopted by her American parents after being born in Russia to two teenagers who left her in foster care. When she was only 18 months old, she had both legs amputated due to a disease.
That clearly didn’t stop her from reaching her goals, and she has since become an advocate for women in sports and disability support.
Visconte also said she admires other successful swimmers like Missy Franklin and Lydia Jacoby.
“To me, these people have inspired and shaped me into the swimmer and woman I am today,” she said.
Overcoming criticism is also a large part of battling through adversity.
Babe Didrikson Zaharias, a multi-talented athlete in the mid-20th century, was no stranger to this, as she faced a great deal of sexism and was often accused of being a man due to her athletic prowess.
She took home two gold medals in the 1932 Olympics, and to this day, she remains the only Olympic athlete to ever win individual medals in running, jumping and throwing events.
In her later years, she became a professional golfer and is widely regarded as one of the best and most popular women’s golfers in history.
“I remember my parents talking about her,” said Fredonia women’s tennis coach Jane Gens. “She was unflappable about participating in sports despite the criticism from others.”
Allie Wandell, a junior dual-sport athlete in softball and basketball, said she admires a few different athletes in her respective sports, Paige Bueckers and Nika Mühl of the University of Connecticut’s women’s basketball team and Oddici Alexander of James Madison University’s softball team.
“They celebrate and uplift other women. In this society, we are constantly pinned against each other and being compared,” said Wandell. “These women stay resilient and that is what I admire the most.”
It can be difficult for women to break into a male-centric sports world, but because of these successful stories of resilience and determination, many women and young girls can feel like they can do it, too.