Emily Driste: a triple threat
Emily Driste has been a three sport athlete at Sartell High School for the last 4 years.
Emily Driste is a senior at Sartell High School, and she is a three-sport athlete: cross-country in the fall, basketball in winter, and track & field in the springtime.
She switched from playing softball in the spring and opted to compete in track and field for her remaining high school years. Emily played softball up until her junior year and began her cross country career in seventh grade.
She said her goal for this cross-country season is, “to make it to state. We were super close this year, but we missed going to state by one place. That was really our drive and focus all year.”
Emily was a captain for cross-country both her junior and senior year and is currently a senior basketball captain.
Emily said her other goal, not pertaining to their season is, “keeping our team really close and making friendships across grades was another priority of ours this season.”
As much as she loves cross country, Emily’s favorite sport has always been basketball. Emily is currently a point guard for the Sartell Sabres girls basketball team.
When asked how long Emily had been playing basketball, she smiled and replied, “I was really little, when I was in preschool/kindergarten I used to go to little kid camps and work on skills, then when I was old enough I started to really play.”
In softball, Emily played various positions ranging from the outfield to pitching. For track and field, Emily runs in the 4×8, 4×4, and occasionally the 800. (The 4×8 consists of four runners who each run 2 laps around the track, 4×4 is a team of four who each run one lap, and the 800 is 2 laps around the track.)
Emily’s favorite memory from basketball was, “playing to go to state my sophomore year. It was a fun playoff run.”
Emily does have a hard time keeping up with her schoolwork at times, but she is thankful for having teachers that are flexible and understanding of her athletics. As Emily has gotten older, she has been able to balance both her workload and athletics more easily.
When asked what Emily’s favorite part of cross country is, she quickly replied, “The friendships that I made with everyone. I have made a lot of close friends over the years and that has always been, to me, the best part.”
Being a 3 sports athlete has taught Emily various skills. Time management is the most important one that she has learned, being able to balance her chaotic schedule, and will be the most beneficial to her in the future.
Since Emily is constantly in and out of practice and doing her homework, she has little free time available. In the small amount of free time she has, Emily enjoys going up north, being outside, listening to music, and catching a bite to eat at Noodles and Company.
Emily is being recruited by multiple colleges for multiple sports. When asked who was recruiting her Emily proudly said, “I was asked to run by a couple colleges, St. Ben’s, Concordia, more area schools.”
Emily has decided that she does not want to run in college.
There is, however, a possibility that Emily would play basketball. The University of Wisconsin La-Crosse is the college that Emily has been considering to continue her basketball career at.
Emily Driste has not made any commitments and is still deciding.
Laurel is a senior at Sartell High School. She enjoys spending time with her friends and family and also watching Netflix in her free time. Her favorite...
