The Sterling Black Bears softball team is coming off of a solid year a season ago and will
be led by the two seniors, Shklar Olsen and Carli Wilkey.
Olsen and Wilkey are both three-sport athletes who compete in volleyball, basketball,
and, of course, softball. Olsen is a pitcher and second baseman, and Wilkey is a left
fielder for the Black Bears.
The two girls have been playing since they were young but took different paths. Olsen
started playing competitively when she was around eight and never looked back. Wilkey
was the same way, except she stopped playing when she got to middle school. The
senior then started playing again at the start of high school and hasn’t looked back since.
For Wilkey, getting her love back for softball was easy, and as a senior, she wanted to go
out the right way.
“My main personal goal is to make the most out of this season and enjoy it more than
anything since it’s my last high school sport ever,” Wilkey said. “I get to play with a lot of
my friends, which will be fun, but I want to grow new friendships with the girls I don’t
know. I hope to be someone that the underclassman can look up to and feel comfortable
asking questions to. I think this is going to be a season to remember for a lot of different
reasons, but most of all, just because of the people I get to play with.”
Olsen is the same way. As a senior, her sense of urgency is at an all-time high for herself
and for the team.
“A personal goal that I have is to get 300 strikeouts. I am at 239 right now,” Olsen said.
“A team goal that I have is to get past the first round of regionals, and we’ve come close
every year since I was in high school. The ultimate goal is to go to state.”
Don’t be surprised when these two seniors kick off a deep run in the state playoffs
this season.
