Julianna Wadsworth-Oswego East Student Athlete of the Week

                Senior Julianna Wadsworth is a firm believer in the old saying, “Defense wins championships.”  The starting forward, as well as her teammates, is putting together an impressive season this year, and it all starts on the defensive end.  Julianna serves as a captain and the spark plug for the lady Wolves, and that has helped earn her the distinction of Student Athlete of the Week.

     “Juka,” as her teammates and friends lovingly refer to her, got her nickname as a child from her Serbian grandmother.  Julianna carries herself with an old school mentality, preferring to be a force on the defensive end instead of scoring on the offensive end.  “[Julianna] is our spark plug on the defensive end, but has become a much improved scorer throughout the past summer and this season,” says head coach Abe Caretto.  Caretto goes on to say, “The defense kind of runs off [of] her aggressiveness. She has gotten a lot of steals this year and last, which has led to points for our team.” 

     Wadsworth lists her individual goals for the season as trying to beat last year’s mark of taking 9 charges, which shows how winning is placed far higher on her priority list than individual accolades.  Although winning a conference title was a team goal the wolves fell just short of this season, the bigger goal of winning regionals and advancing as far as possible in the state tournament are still well within reach.  Julianna’s relentless play and rugged style is motivated by what she describes as her favorite thing about basketball.  “The team is like a family for me,” says Julianna.

     As a captain, coach Caretto describes Julianna as someone who “plays aggressive by example, but [she] has become more vocal as the season progressed.”  Caretto continues by saying “When we have a captain diving on the floor in practice it shows her teammates how hard they need to play.”  First year teacher at East Sean Kelleher taught Julianna in Sociology, and he saw much of what makes her a successful basketball player transition into the classroom as a student. Kelleher said, “I would say that depending on the assignment she would be either a follower or a leader.”  He goes on to say that, “Her ability to adapt and be flexible to changing situations, whether it was follower or leader, was her strength.”

     Julianna’s work in the classroom and on the court has garnered her some attention toward playing at the next level, as she is currently being recruited by both Judson and Lindenwood.  Whichever school is fortunate enough to land her, the coach can count on having a player he or she can use as an example for how to play the game the right way.  Julianna advises future wolves to “Respect your coaches and teammates, always be willing to accept criticism, but drive to get better as an individual.”  Future wolves would be smart to heed Juka’s advice, and look to her as a player they can model themselves after for success.