Team Players, Wenzel and Leader, Earn Softball Scholarship Award

Two seniors, Erica Wenzel and Christina Leader, on this year's Yorktown High School softball squad received the annual Yorktown Athletic Club Softball Scholarship Award.

Wenzel, a shortstop, played three years for the Huskers varsity squad and seven years for the Yorktown Athletic Club's in-house travel and tournament teams.

"It's an honor for me to be able to win this," Wenzel said. "I have been playing softball, starting in the Yorktown Athletic Club, since I was a little kid. It's something I grew up with. I was very happy when I found out that I won it."

Leader, a center fielder, played two seasons on the Huskers varsity team and five years for the Yorktown Athletic Club (YAC). She said that winning the award meant a lot to her. Not only has she given her time back to the YAC, she also has spent time helping Mohansic Girls Basketball and the Yorktown Youth Soccer Club, two other places where she played for at one time.

Wenzel and Leader have helped out at the YAC's winter clinics and have been positive role models for the younger players.

"It's just so nice to give back and be recognized for it," Leader said. "I am just so appreciative of what Jeff Wilson [YAC softball commissioner] and the people of the Yorktown Athletic Club have done for me."

Both players felt that it was important to give back to the organization which has helped them improve their game.

"[The Yorktown Athletic Club] really helped me grow as a player and helped me develop my softball skills," Leader said. "It also helped me determine my major in college. I am going to Springfield College and I am going to be majoring in physical education. Having the experience of teaching kids how to play softball and being part of a team made my choice of a major so much easier."

Wenzel, who will play softball and volleyball at Muhlenberg College in the fall, said she couldn't have become an all-section player without the tutelage she received while playing in the YAC.

"Playing in the YAC taught me to how to play softball," Wenzel said. "It taught me the fundamentals. It's where I learned how to hit and field. Playing softball in the Yorktown Athletic Club was invaluable to me in my growth as a player."

What made winning the award extra special for both players is the fact that they each were genuinely pleased their teammate was honored.

 "I was happy for Christina," Wenzel said. "She definitely deserved it. She is a very hard worker and very knowledgeable about the game of softball. She helped me out when I needed help and anyone else who needed it."

Winning the award along with Wenzel was an emotional experience for Leader, who will try out for the softball team at Springfield, she said.

"There were so many emotions going through me, I was so happy and excited," Leader said. "It's great because we have gone to every single clinic and it's just nice to be honored with someone like her whom I have known since third grade."