Franklin High senior Kristi Kirshe has been selected as the inaugural Miss Hockomock, an award given to the top student-athlete of the school year as chosen by the staff of HockomockSports.com. Kirshe captained the soccer, basketball, and girls’ lacrosse teams this past year and will be attending Williams College in the fall of 2013.
This past fall, Kirshe led Franklin to its first-ever Division 1 girls’ soccer state championship and a near perfect record of 22-0-1. During the winter season, Kirshe was the starting point guard on the Kelley-Rex division co-champions and helped lead the Panthers to their second consecutive South sectional final. This spring, she was a starting defender for Franklin, which completed a perfect 11-0 league schedule and advanced to the sectional semifinal.
In addition to the team success that Kirshe has had this season, she was also named Hockomock MVP in both soccer and lacrosse by the league’s coaches as well as Gatorade Player of the Year for soccer.
“When the idea for this award was initially brought up, Kristi’s was the first name that came up,” said HockomockSports.com Managing Editor Josh Perry. “She played on three league champions and was considered, if not the best player, then among the top two or three players on each of those teams.”
Kirshe was named the Kelley-Rex Player of the Year for girls’ soccer by HockomockSports.com and also a first team Hock 5 player in girls’ lacrosse. As a four -year starter on the soccer team, Kirshe scored 102 goals and added 44 assists, including 40 goals and 13 assists this past season.
Her head coach in lacrosse, Kristin Igoe, highlighted Krishe’s leadership ability as one of the attributes that has contributed to Franklin’s success this season.
“She leads by example; she puts everything out on the field and inspires her teammates to do the same,” said Igoe prior to the Panthers making a postseason run. “She understands the game and is always communicating with her teammates, trying to make them better.”
According to John Leighton, who has coached Kirshe in basketball and lacrosse, “Kristi is the most competitive person I have ever met. If there is a competition, she will find a way to win it.”
That competitive spirit also pushes her teammates to excel.
Leighton remarked, “Over her four years in all three sports, she continuously made her teammates better. In basketball, she was a captain who led by example. She pushed herself and her teammates followed her lead. Our back to back trips to the South Sectional Finals would not have been possible if not for the play and leadership of Kristi Kirshe.”
Being a captain and being trusted with the leadership of all three teams this season, meant a lot to Kirshe and was the fulfillment of a goal that she set way back as a freshman entering Franklin High.
She noted, “That other people see me as a leader means a lot to me because it shows that they trust me. I love my teammates for it because they put their confidence in me and that just gives me more confidence going forward.”
Kirshe became emotional as she reflected back on the year that she has had and the success that the Panthers have had over her four-year career.
“Looking back, I wouldn’t change a single thing," she explained. “It’s more than I ever would have hoped for. I hoped that I would have success in all three sports…I can never outdo how amazing my Franklin career was.”
Honorable Mentions: Meghan Lennon (Canton), Abby Oliver (Attleboro), Caroline Sun (Sharon), Meaghan McKenna (Canton)