Granby Resident Wins AAU Junior Olympics Gold Medal

Editor’s note: We published this story earlier in the week, but are posting it again today in case you missed it.

Lexi King, class of ‘17 at The Ethel Walker School (Walker’s), was among 126 of the country’s best U16 field hockey players selected to compete in the AAU Junior Olympics in Virginia Beach. Lexi’s team, Team Black, coalesced quickly, played hard, and won the Junior Olympics Gold Medal.

Lexi has played on Walker’s field hockey team, under award-winning coach Mimi Duran, since eighth grade. Walker’s is a Class C division competitor, and also competes in the prestigious Founders League.

King quickly connected with her fellow teammates, and spent the week playing against athletes from around the United States. Her Junior Olympics team was coached by Paul Lewis, a former member of the US Men’s National Team.

A 6-1 win during their third game put King’s team as the #2 seed going into crossovers, and a 3-2 win the following day against the #3 seed in the B pool put the team in a position to automatically win an overall medal in the tournament. During the final day, wins against two undefeated teams resulted in a victorious gold medal placement for King’s team.

“I will definitely see a lot of those girls again at various events, and I’ll probably play against some of them in college, but no matter what happens, I think we will always hold that week in Virginia Beach in a special place in our hearts. To enter the week as strangers and to leave it as gold medalists is truly a rare and memorable experience, and frankly, I’m just glad I was able to be a part of it,” said King.

King was also selected to compete in the Junior Olympics in 2013, and has participated in a number of other USA Field Hockey events at the national level. The Junior Olympics were held August 4-8 at the former training facility for the US Women’s National Team.

Lexi lives in Granby, Connecticut. She hopes to play Division 1 hockey in college, and currently is thinking of a career in filmmaking.

Walker’s has won both the CISAC League and Tournament titles from 2007-2014, and was a WNEPSA Class C division winner in 2010. Coach Duran has been coaching in the United States Field Hockey Association Futures Program since 1995. She has taken athletes to the National Field Hockey Festival since the early 1990s.

Photos courtesy Ethel Walker School