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Marchi: Unlucky number, superb results
Ashley Marchi took unlucky jersey No. 13 and made it lucky.
Turning anything into something great seems to be a theme in her life, one reason the tall, athletic, energetic senior is the Fauquier Times-Democrat's choice as Wakefield School Girls Athlete of the Year.
All three of Marchi's teams made it to states in the past year, and she was All-Conference in all three as a volleyball middle hitter, basketball forward and soccer goalkeeper.
A consummate teammate, Marchi named “leadership and sportsmanship” as the most important aspects of her play.
How responsible a leader was Marchi? Besides maintaining straight A’s, she was “the prime babysitter everyone is after,” said Wakefield athletic director and girls basketball coach Paul Sipes.
Does she ever sleep? It seems not. Marchi believes “whenever you want something you have to do whatever it takes to get it,” a work ethic that had a very obvious payoff her junior year when the Wakefield girls soccer team needed a goalkeeper.
Already a talented soccer player on the field, Marchi took the challenge and became the starter at a brand-new position. Her dominating presence in goal led the Owls to the state tournament quarterfinals this spring.
In 2007, Wakefield made it to the state finals. She was the Delaney Athletic Conference's All-Conference keeper for 2008.
One of her most exciting moments was a shutout in the state quarterfinals. “I was going to sacrifice everything to get to the next round,” she said. And they did.
Marchi is no stranger to shutouts, with four last season, and a goals against average of 0.6. Wakefield had a 5-1 record with her in goal.
Sipes explained that when he first started coaching basketball there was not a huge turnout, making the 5-foot-10 Marchi a key player.
“She is not a person who runs away from challenges,” he said of Marchi, who went on to finish her career as one of the all-time leading scorers in Wakefield history with more than 1,000 points.
Her hoops skills helped Wakefield advance to the VIS Division III quarterfinals last winter and won her numerous accolades, including election to DAC All-star Team in 2006 and 2007, the CAC All-Conference Award, and the DAC All-Conference Team in 2008.
As a senior, Marchi averaged 12.7 points per game, including a season-high 29 against Foxcroft, and made 67 percent of her free throws. She finished with 338 points and 1,102 for her four-year career...See the Wednesday print edition of the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story.
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