WKBN announces Female Student Athlete of the Year
WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) – Austintown Fitch senior Rachel Spalding was named the 2025 WKBN/WYTV Student Athlete of the Year on Thursday night.
The award, along with a $1,000 college scholarship, was presented to Spalding at the annual Student Athlete of the Year banquet at DiVieste's Banquet Center.
Spalding played five sports for the Falcons, carried a perfect 4.0 grade point average and was named class valedictorian.
In athletics, she earned twelve varsity letters. She was a four-year starter in basketball, a team captain, and a First Team All-Conference selection. She was also a two-time Regional qualifier in track.
Spalding was a three-year starter in softball and helped lead Austintown Fitch to three consecutive District Championships, and back-to-back State titles in 2023 and 2024.
She vice president of both student council and National Honor Society, and a member of Interact Club, Link Crew, and Reading Discussion Enrichment Club.
Spalding also amassed over 200 hours of volunteer service, including mission trips with her church. She most recently spent a week in Kentucky building houses.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
NFL analyst suggests Cowboys trade All-Pro due $94 million to Falcons
NFL analyst suggests Cowboys trade All-Pro due $94 million to Falcons The Dallas Cowboys simultaneously have a lack of depth and a bottleneck at the cornerback position. On paper, the club has two young All-Pros, another former first-round pick still on his rookie contract and a third-round rookie who most think had first-round talent from this most recent draft. But that's on paper. In reality, Trevon Diggs has been injured since inking his five-year extension before 2023 and is not expected back for the beginning on the year. Kaiir Elam was a washout in Buffalo who is currently relying on offseason optimism that the Cowboys pulled a fast one on the Bills. Shavon Revel was an athletic freak before an ACL injury that will likely have him miss the beginning of the year as well. The only certified contributor is really DaRon Bland. So of course it's suggested that the best move for the Atlanta Falcons is to acquire Bland from the Cowboys. At least, in the eyes of Pro Football Network, who went around the league and suggested a trade target for each team. The Atlanta Falcons' defense had a tough 2024, finishing 29th in our Defense+ metric. Edge rusher was a major issue going into the offseason, but the team addressed it in both free agency and the draft. Now, cornerback depth stands out as Atlanta's biggest remaining need. The Falcons ranked 25th in pass defense success rate (51.9%), partly because of an inconsistent pass rush. But the problems in the secondary go deeper. The spot opposite A.J. Terrell is still unsettled. Even the nickel role, currently held by Dee Alford, could use competition this summer. On paper, the Cowboys have one of the league's best cornerback duos with Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland. Both are former first-team All-Pros, but they played just one game together in 2024 due to injuries. Bland is now in a contract year, and his long-term future in Dallas is uncertain. All of that is true, but unless the Cowboys' season tanks, it doesn't make much sense for them to look to trade the most reliable asset within the position group. Bland is projected to earn a $94.9 million contract, either as an extension or as a free agent this offseason and it is possible the Cowboys let him walk. In that mindset, getting compensation for him now instead of waiting for him to enter the comp pick formula makes a ton of sense. But not at the expense of being competitive in 2025.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Which player has dominated the Bucs the most in recent history?
Which player has dominated the Bucs the most in recent history? No other team in recent history has caused more issues for the Bucs than the Falcons have, despite their recent run of NFC South dominance. Just last year, the Bucs won the division for a fourth straight time, but they needed some help from other teams in the league after getting swept by Atlanta during the regular season. One of the big reasons they had so much success against the Bucs was in part to their rushing attack and the time they gave their quarterbacks to pick apart the Bucs secondary. One of the key players of the Falcons offensive line is guard Chris Lindstrom. He is someone that PFF identified in a recent article as being the biggest achilles heel for the Bucs in recent history. They write, "Lindstrom has played terrifically against Tampa Bay throughout his career. He has recorded at least an 80.0 PFF overall grade in seven of their 10 most recent meetings. As is customary, Lindstrom has dominated the Buccaneers on the ground with a 91.4 PFF run-blocking grade. Still just 28 years old, he isn't going anywhere anytime soon, so Tampa Bay will have to figure out a way to beat him." Lindstrom is among the best guards in the NFL. It is unfortunate the Bucs have to play him twice a year, but it is a must-see TV event when they do. Lindtsrom going head-to-head with the likes of Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey is the equivalent of a heavyweight title fight on Sunday. They will play two more times this year, of course, so they have more chances to prove they can learn how to beat him.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Falcons' Jessie Bates cracks top 5 of PFF's safety rankings for 2025 season
Falcons' Jessie Bates cracks top 5 of PFF's safety rankings for 2025 season Jessie Bates III ranked among NFL's elite safeties by Pro Football Focus The Atlanta Falcons defense had a roller-coaster season in 2024, ending with two ugly performances in losses to the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers. After the season, the team fired defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake and replaced him with Jeff Ulbrich. While we expect the defense to look much different in 2025, one player Ulbrich can count on is safety Jessie Bates III. The Pro Bowl playmaker delivered again last season, bringing in four interceptions, four forced fumbles and one sack. Bates has 10 interceptions since signing with the Falcons during the 2023 offseason. The 28-year-old didn't make the Pro Bowl or All-Pro teams, but he still cracked the top five of Pro Football Focus' safety rankings for the 2025 season. Bates landed at No. 3 on PFF's list: While Bates didn't replicate his success from his first season in Atlanta — in which he earned a 90.6 PFF overall grade — he was still among the best safeties in the league in 2024. He was especially good in coverage, evidenced by his 81.4 PFF coverage grade, which ranked eighth at the position. Zoltán Buday, PFF The Falcons did a solid job of upgrading around Bates without using a ton of resources. After signing veteran Jordan Fuller in free agency, the team stole Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft. Atlanta also drafted Oklahoma safety Billy Bowman in the fourth round. Watts, who recorded six interceptions for the Fighting Irish last season, was ranked 36th overall on PFF's 2025 Big board. Atlanta landed him at pick No. 96 after moving up a few spots in the third round. "Watts is the best ball-hawking safety in this class thanks to his intelligence and ability to break on the football," PFF wrote. Bowman is expected to compete for reps at nickel this season. The team also re-signed veterans Dee Alford and Mike Hughes. This group has a good mix of talent and leadership, and it all starts with Bates. We'll see if Ulbrich can get the most out of this unit in 2025.
