Brynn Anderson shined on the soccer field, in the pool, and on the track for the Chargers.
Brynn Anderson has no regrets about her high school athletic career.
And why should she?
The North Montgomery graduate holds records in all three sports she played, and is praised by many as one of the hardest workers they’ve ever seen.
“Brynn is an excellent representative of North Montgomery in the classroom and on the athletic field,” Chargers athletic director Matt Merica said. “She is a fierce competitor who works extremely hard. She was a leader within the student body and for the soccer, swim and track teams.”
After receiving four first place votes in a voting pool of 10 voters — The Journal Review is proud to present the Inaugural Girl’s Career Achievement Award to Anderson.
In the fall Anderson played soccer, in the winter she swam, and in the spring she ran track. Rinse and repeat, without any hesitation.
“I chose to play multiple sports because I loved being busy and having something to do after school,” Anderson said. “Eventually I loved so much about each sport that I continued to do all three because I had no desire to focus on just one. All of my sports taught me so many qualities like leadership, versatility, and team work that will serve me well in the future.”
In soccer, Anderson was the backbone of a strong defense that helped lead the Chargers to a pair of winning seasons in her junior and senior campaigns, and earned the Journal Review Girl’s Soccer Player of the Year last fall.
“Brynn was very passionate about the game and her team,” North coach Julie Hodges said. “She would strive for excellence, but with soccer being a team sport, that meant her team had to strive for it as well.”
Anderson recalls one of her favorite moments as an athlete during a soccer game against Frankfort her senior year.
“My favorite memory from soccer was my one and only goal throughout my high school career. As a defender, I did not have many opportunities to score, but it was my goal every single year to score and Coach Hodges tried giving me many opportunities to help me with that,” she said. “My senior year I finally achieved that goal when I scored against Frankfort off of a free kick to tie the game, and then we ended up winning so that made it ten times better.”
Records fell in the pool during Anderson’s four-year career, and she was right in the middle of it. A 400 freestyle relay record in the pool as a junior with Megan Merica, Lillia Mitchell, and Sidney Campbell. On the track she was a four-time Sagamore Conference champion in the 4x400 relay.
Anderson always strived to be the best.
“For me, I was driven by my want to reach not only my coaches goals for me, but my own standards and goals,” she said. “I wanted so badly to be the best I could be at anything I did, and my coaches knew that and helped me to achieve that. Setting goals for myself and competing with my teammates really pushed me during practice and competition.”
Her coaches took notice.
“Brynn has one of the best work ethics I have ever seen from a student athlete,” North track and field coach Josh Thompson said. “Throughout her entire high school career she was able to maintain excellence in the classroom and in athletic competitions. She always led by example by attending all workouts and giving 100 percent effort.”
“She was one of the hardest working players on the team with her fitness and ball skill,” Hodges added. “I don’t know how many times I heard players over the years set their fitness goals as, ‘To keep up with Brynn.’”
She was a coaches dream.
“Brynn is the type of athlete any coach loves to have,” North swim and dive coach Erin Yeager said. “She is driven, self-motivated, and hard-working. She pushes herself and others on the team to be their best. She is what many would call a grinder, sometimes you have to tell her to take a break. Brynn was a great teammate and competitor.”
As Anderson hangs up her cleats, cap, and spikes, she hopes future athletes will use her story as motivation to never give up on something they love.
“My advice to younger athletes in multiple sports would be to not give up on one sport just because you are not as successful in it than you are in your other sports,” she said. “I struggled with this a little bit, but I stuck with the sport and I am so glad that I did.”
There is no doubt Anderson’s legacy will be remembered at North Montgomery for many years to come.
For North Montgomery, Brynn was just the all-around athlete. She broke team defensive records on the soccer field with her as the leader,” Hodges said. “She then moved to the pool where she owns a couple relay records. Finally, in track she owns a relay record. She probably owns some powder puff records too if they kept those. You can just recap the year round success she had, and the one consistent is that she has been doing it all 4 years at North Montgomery. She was a great definition of what a Chargin’ Charger is.”
Brynn Anderson is the daughter of Brian and Lauren Anderson. She competed at North Montgomery for four seasons in soccer, swimming, and track and field. Anderson will attend Hope College in Michigan to play soccer.
Award Breakdown
Each of the four area athletic directors nominated two male and two female athletes that acquired at least two varsity letters in at least two sports.
Voter Breakdown
Then 10 members comprised of coaches, athletic directors, and media ranked their top athletes.
Voters
Sean Gerold — Crawfordsville Asst. Football and Head Track and Field Coach
Jason Good — Fountain Central Athletic Director
Desson Hannum — Southmont Football and Track and Field Coach
Jared McMurry — Journal Review Sports Editor
Jeff Nelson — Journal Review Sports Writer
Lori Poteet — Journal Review Sports Photographer
Bill Rubenstein -— Voice of Montgomery County Sports on WIMC
Josh Thompson — North Montgomery Football and Track and Field Coach
Jodi Webster — North Montgomery Volleyball Coach
Jamie Welliever — Southmont Wrestling Coach
