By Ella Franzman – Editor-In-Chief

Seniors Natalie Morrell and Zack Sulkis were named December Athletes of the Month. 

Both Morrell and Sulkis are captains of both their respective sports – gymnastics and wrestling. This season, Morrell was recognized as Top 15 Gymnasts by CTInsinder. 

“An ‘Athlete of the Month- should be hard working and persistent in their sports, while also being a strong leader and teammate,” Morrell said. 

Morrell holds the school record on the balance beam with a 9.6. She broke this record at last year’s SCC Championship meet. The score is also an SCC record.   

“Natalie is one of the hardest workers and dedicated to the sport,” head gymnastics coach Mr. Simon said. “She is right there to help the other girls and I value her input as a captain. Natalie is a pleasure to have on our team, very talented, great helper, and overall a great teammate and leader. ”

Morrell was named CHSCA All-State and NHSGA All-American her freshman, sophomore, and junior year.s She has also qualified as an Academic All-American for the past three years.

She said her role model in gymnastics is Olympic champion Simone Biles.

“My role model on a broader scale would probably be Simone Biles, though my teammates often act as role models for me as well,” Morrell said.

Sulkis, a senior wrestler, also was awarded December Athlete of the Month. In the spring, Sulkis is also a thrower for the boys track and field team. 

“Zack is deserving of the Athlete of the Month because he is one of the best examples of a studenta-thlete,” assistant coach Mr. Ruzbarsky said. “He has a strong work ethic, he is dedicated to his academic studies, and he is always challenging himself to do better in order to excel.” 

Sulkis was also named Athlete of the Month in December 2022.

“I feel I was nominated because fans and members of the team constantly tell me how entertaining it is watching me wrestle and how they like how heavyweight closes out every Wednesday night meet, Sulkis said. “They know win or lose I’m going to put on a show on the mat.” 

Sulkis is looking to continue his wrestling career in college and already has a couple of offers. He is hoping to commit to a college within the next few months. 

He credits famed wrestler Gable Stevenson with inspiring him to participate in the sport.

“I would say my biggest role model in the sport of wrestling is Gable Steveson,” Sulkis said. “Him being a heavyweight so dominant and entertaining caught my attention pretty quickly when I first started to get into wrestling.”