Continuing the introduction of incoming freshman class.
Get to know
Emily Wood, a 5'8 left-handed outfielder who was just named
Quad-Cities' Female Athlete of the Year, the same honor our ace pitcher Ellie Spelhaug received back in 2018. She hails from Pleasant Valley HS, the same school the Spelhaug sisters are from. She is not just a multi-sports athlete, but she excels at all of them.
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Here's a summary of her major achievements in her high school athletic career.
Softball: two state championships in 8th grade and freshman year
Track & Field: two state championships (400 hurdles, 4x100 relay), 2nd place (sprint medley relay), 3rd place (4x200 relay)
Volleyball: two state tournament semi-final appearances as an outside hitter
Basketball: was the team's second leading scorer in her senior year (didn't play in her sophomore and junior years due to workload and injury)
Early this year, she was also named the
Female Athlete of the Year by her high school.
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Quad-City Times published a feature article about her with ton of words and photos.
Pleasant Valley senior Emily Wood, a four-sport standout who will play softball at Iowa State in the fall, is the 2021 female athlete of the year.
qctimes.com
Due to the length of the article, I excerpt some eye-catching paragraphs below.
Selected as this year’s Quad-City Times female athlete of the year — the fourth girl from PV to earn that distinction since the award started in 1982 — the Iowa State University softball signee has had a distinguished high school career.
She has been a five-year starter in softball (part of two state championship teams), a four-year starter in volleyball (participated on two state semifinal squads) and an individual and relay state champion on a state runner-up track & field team.
And after not playing the past two seasons, she returned to the basketball court this past winter and made an impact as PV’s second-leading scorer and top defender.
“She’s probably one of the most athletically gifted individuals I’ve ever coached,” PV girls track & field coach Kenny Wheeler said. “You don’t see kids move from sport to sport with the fluidity and seamlessness that she does where she contributes to each team at the very highest of levels.
Wood dabbled in about every sport she could find growing up.
Besides the four she has excelled at throughout her high school career, she played tennis, golf and soccer, competed in triathlons and did 5K races.
She'll be joining an Iowa State program with many familiar faces in former PV teammates Ellie and Carli Spelhaug. She has played some club softball with incoming players Olivia Wardlow of Assumption and McKenna Rebarcak of Davenport North. She knows Assumption grad and team member Lea Nelson.
"(Iowa State) left its mark this year and people have high expectations for them next year. Being part of that and getting to play with so many great athletes and great softball players is going to be really fun next year."
From Cyclones.com
Wood hails from Bettendorf, Iowa, and has enjoyed an outstanding prep career playing for Pleasant Valley and Iowa Premier. Wood was teammates with current Cyclones Carli and
Ellie Spelhaug on the 2018 Pleasant Valley squad that won the 5A Iowa State title. The following season, Wood led 5A in batting average, hitting .553 en route to First Team Mississippi Valley Athletic Conference honors, and a Second Team All-State selection. Her 2020 squad also qualified for state, and she was named a finalist for the Quad City Times Female Athlete of the Year.
Coach Pinkerton on Emily Wood: "She comes from a championship culture here in Iowa. She won a state title at Pleasant Valley, where she played with the Spelhaugs. And played once again with a high-level, national-caliber team with the Iowa Premier. She's an outfielder and has a lot of tools. I'm really excited to work with her because she can run well, she's kind of like Olivia in that she can bunt and steal bases, and also has power. She can definitely put pressure on a defense."
Why Iowa State: "After visiting the campus and talking to Coach Pink, I really felt like I could see myself living there and being a part of the Cyclone family for the next four years. The academic focus for athletes was also a large deciding factor, as they have a lot of support from advisors and other academic staff." – Emily Wood