There’s much more to a student than just getting good grades, just as there is much more to an athlete than good stats, but the character that is very unique is both a student and athlete; a student-athlete.
This year, Lakeland student athletes posted impressive numbers for their accumulative GPA, with almost all teams scoring above a 3.0.
“I believe good people make good teams,” Activities Director Matt Neff said, “usually good students are tough and we have the best of both worlds. We have students that work hard in the classroom but also work hard on the court and field.”
They manage practices, workouts/training, team dinners and bondings, time to recover, tournaments/travel, as well as school work/homework, applying for colleges, attending any extra curricular activities like student council or key club, and maybe even tutoring. Some student athletes barely make it by with their GPA to stay eligible, others thrive under pressure and are skilled in handling their full plate.
“Getting school work and classwork done is important to keep up your grades in order to keep playing, because if you don’t and you get that F then you’re ineligible to play,” Aiden Carrillo said.
This year for Lakeland High School girls sports: golf came out with a flying 3.763 average GPA, the highest in all the girls sports and sports over all in the 2025-2026 school year.
“For golf it’s hard because we are gone all day and sometimes that leads to a lot of late nights but you just have to try and stay on top of school work and make up tests outside of school like,” Varsity girls golf player Ellie Austad said.
For boys, cross country came out on top for the highest GPA.
“I think school is just as important as sports because for a lot of colleges they look at both academics and how good you are at your sport so you need to find a good middle ground,” Frank McCarthy said.
Although the recognition has faded through the years, being a student athlete has always been something honored by peers and especially faculty. One of the first ways student athletes showed off their achievements is by wearing a letterman jacket; these have also faded in popularity through the years.
Even though being a student athlete has become more normalized, there’s no doubt that it is still a challenge.
“If I have something to do in the week that I have a game or something, I try and get it done the night before and try not to procrastinate,” Karstyn Kiefer said.
On top of balancing school work and sporting events, student athletes tend to be the most sociable and outgoing people you meet. This is usually born from the consistent requirement to work with other people along with working hard and being disciplined.
“I like to play soccer, do track and basketball, I hang out with my friends a lot and I also go and watch my siblings play their sports whenever I can,” Kartsyn Kiefer said. With this extrovertedness comes personal commitments like going out with friends and with the discipline most student athletes have they tend to find themselves holding down a job of some sort.
“I like boating and golfing and I also have a job in Twin Lakes at the golf course,” Ellie Austad said.
The discipline, team work, and confidence that athletes learn from sports does not just help them handle a busy schedule. It helps stand out among others and be an overall well rounded character that can accomplish anything they want.
Average GPAs for Lakeland sports
Football: 3.122
Volleyball: 3.613
Girls Golf: 3.763
Boys Golf: 3.519
Girls XC: 3.708
Boys XC: 3.617
Girls Swim: 3.210
Boys Swim: 3.259
Girls Soccer: 3.255
Boys Soccer: 3.235
Wrestling -Boys: 2.913
Wrestling -Girls: 3.022
Cheer: 3.196
Dance: 3.253
Basketball -Boys: 3.169
Basketball -Girls: 3.729
Baseball: 3.139
Softball: 3.231
Girls Tennis: 3.715
Boys Tennis: 2.991
Girls Track: 3.544
Boys Track: 3.210
