Sydney Stoll, a senior at Edon High School, has been dazzling fans and opponents alike for the last four years. She’s a fixture in the starting lineup all year ‘round and has been for her entire high school career in volleyball, basketball, and track.
Sydney’s last high school volleyball season ended some months ago. Volleyball, according to Sydney, is her favorite of the three sports she plays, and it shows in the sheer number of awards and recognitions she’s received:
She was 3rd Team All State in 2011 and 2012; District 7 Player of the Year in 2011 and 2012; 1st Team District 7 in 2010; 2nd Team District 7 in 2009; BBC Player of the Year in 2011 and 2012; 1st Team BBC in 2012; 2nd Team BBC in 2009; and received the District 7 Volleyball Officials Association Scholarship in 2012.
That’s quite a list for any athlete’s high school career, but Sydney’s is just getting started. In track, Sydney has made a solid contribution to Edon’s record books. Miss Stoll holds three track and field records: long jump with a distance of 16 feet and 9 ¾ inches; the 300 meter high hurdles with a time of 45.39 seconds; and the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.8 seconds. Sydney was also the State Runner-up in Division III in the 300 meter high hurdles in 2012.
Sydney still has another season of track and field coming up this Spring, so she may have to break some of her own records. Time will tell, but it’s basketball season right now and everyone in Edon knows the newest record with Sydney’s name next to it – the 1000 point club.
Yes, during a holiday tournament game against Hicksville, Sydney was just the third girl in school history to score 1000 points, and she did it on a free throw to a student section full of fans wearing shirts with her point count on them and a wild fan base keeping count for all to hear. “I was nervous,” said Sydney. “The crowd was chanting. After I made the first free throw to get to 999, it put even more pressure on the second shot, but I just wanted to get it over with.” Sydney made the shot and the crowd went wild. That free throw gave Sydney her 20th of 26 points she would have in the game. Her Bombers also won the game.
When asked how she felt when the shot went down, Sydney said, “I was really excited, but didn’t know what to do. Do I yell? Throw my hands up?” Sydney just laughed a little before finishing. “I was definitely really proud.”
Sydney started the season with just 825 points. That’s over 66 career games before this season which means she averaged 12.5 points for her first three seasons. She is now at 1062, just 20 points shy of the career record with 9 games to go. That means that in just 13 games so far this season, Sydney scored 237 points, an average of 18.2 points a game. Given the stats, by the time Sydney’s basketball season is done, Edon should have a new all-time leading scorer on the books.
In addition to this newest achievement, Sydney has accrued other honors on the court over the years. She was selected for 1st Team District 7 in 2010, 2011, and 2012; BBC 1st Team in 2010, 2011, and 2012; and received Northwest Ohio All District Special Mention in 2011 and 2012. As far as other Edon records go, Sydney holds the record for most rebounds in a game at 16 (being no more than 5’5’’ with shoes on), most 3-pointers in a game with 6, and most free throws made in a season with 111.
In addition to possibly being the best all-around female athlete to ever walk Edon’s halls, Sydney is also a great student. She is active in Student Government, a member of National Honor Society, ranked in the top 10% of her class, has been a member of Spanish Club for two years, and, to top it all off, was selected by her classmates as Homecoming Queen.
Sydney is definitely approaching the end of an amazing high school career both on and off the court. When asked how she felt about it she said, “It hasn’t really hit me yet. I just want to be a good leader – to do everything I can before it’s all over.”
Beyond the mere ending of her own career, when asked about what she’s leaving behind: her name on the wall, records, stories, about always being a name associated with the school and its athletics, she said, “I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it. But it is cool to be remembered like that. It’s nice to be that mark to set that bar that future students will try to reach.”
Sydney definitely leaves a legacy as she moves toward her graduation day, college, and the rest of her life. Sydney plans to go into nursing at either Akron, Cincinnati, or Wright State University, but no matter where she goes or what she does, everyone around here will know her name for a long time. Congratulations, once again, to Sydney Stoll. Given all the stated evidence, it probably won’t be the last time she hears it.