By Michael Letendre

When you hear the term ‘student athlete’ in the pretext of scholastic sports, the words truly carry some weight at Bristol Central.

And when looking at the girls soccer program from the school, there’s plenty of student in those outstanding athletes.

To end the month of August, the United Soccer Coaches Association awarded Central the Team Academic Award for its exemplary performance in the classroom for the 2022-23 academic year.

The defending CCC South champions, under the watch of head coach Victoria Malick, carried an amazing 4.13 GPA and was one of 315 schools around the nation to earn recognition for, not only achievement on the pitch, but for their efforts in the classroom.

Approximately 196 girls soccer programs around America earned the United Soccer Coaches High School Team Award, with Central being cited for such an outstanding effort locally.

“United Soccer Coaches annual celebrates the academic achievements of high school soccer teams whose student-athletes collectively demonstrate a commitment to excellence in their studies over the course of a full academic year,” according to the release from the United Soccer Coaches.

To qualify for the award, the team must have a minimum Grade Point Average of 3.25 for the entire school year.

The Rams, with that 4.13 GPA, absolutely shattered that standard, leading to one very proud coach.

“With great pride, I would like to announce the players of the 2022 BCHS Girls Soccer team have earned the United States Coaches Team Academic Award,” said Malick over X [Twitter]. “The girls combined had a 4.1262 GPA. This team is truly deserving of this award, and we couldn’t be more proud!”

Wygant finally receives award

Speaking of awards, former BCHS standout Rachel Wygant finally received her United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American Award this past Monday.

Wygant, a freshman on the Central Connecticut State University women’s soccer team, was given her scholastic award as several of her former teammates watched the Blue Devils fall to St. Johns by a 2-1 final on September 4.

The 5-foot-1 first year standout is a four-time All-State honoree, named MVP twice at Bristol Central as well as earning Offensive Player of the Year and [finally] took home her Scholar All-American.

Captains and up-coming schedule

This season’s captains for the girls soccer team at BCHS are senior Abby Hansen and junior Francesca Amara.

That duo was a big part of Central’s success last season on the pitch and in the classroom.

The girls are ready to get the 2023 campaign cracking.

The Rams have a road match at Berlin on Tuesday (6 p.m.) from Sage Park while on Friday, Central hosts Middletown (3:45 p.m.) in a CCC South showdown.