The accolades seemed to roll in nonstop over the course of her four-year career at Perkiomen Valley.
Though the season ended in the fall, the accolades haven’t stopped.
Last week, Viking senior Kelsey Giese was named to MAX Field Hockey’s Top 50 players in the country for the class of 2016. The honor serves as just another accomplishment to an already decorated career as Giese has been a cornerstone to her team over the course of the past four seasons.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Giese, an Indiana University commit. “I didn’t even know they did something like that. It’s pretty rewarding to be selected into the Top 50 from a bunch of players across the country.”
Including Giese, the top 50 ranged from high school seniors from ranging from Pennsylvania all the way across to the West Coast. It also included Twin Valley’s Kelee LePage, Conestoga’s Casey Allen and Gwynedd Mercy’s Megan Duvernois.
“I’ve actually played with a lot of the girls who are on the list too,” added Giese. “Reading through it, there were only really a few of names that I didn’t recognize. So it’s definitely cool to be mentioned in the same rankings with some of them.”
MAX Field Hockey, which deems itself ‘The New National Website Hub for Field Hockey,’ was found a few years ago ‘to serve the needs of the field hockey community and help grow the sport by connecting people to information and opportunities.’
It also serves as another honor to Giese, who has had her name called several times in her career.
Giese was named to The Mercury’s All-Area First Team at the conclusion of her senior and junior seasons, was second team as a sophomore and honorable mention her freshman season.
In addition to being honored locally, Giese has received plenty of national recognition. She has been selected to the Future Elites team three times and the Junior National Camp twice. Last summer, Giese was selected to compete in her third AAU Junior Olympics tournament and was also named to the Pennsylvania High School Field Hockey Coaches Association (PAHSFHCA) All-State First Team.
During her junior season, she scored a team-high 15 goals as the Vikings completed an undefeated run through the Pioneer Athletic Conference en route to the conference title.
Paired up alongside fellow senior Laura Shelton (University of Pennsylvania) Giese was often the focal point on the PV attack. In her senior season, Giese led the conference with 28 goals scored, including a hat trick in the Vikings’ 5-2 win over Phoenixville in the PAC-10 semifinals.
“Everything pretty much fell into place for me,” said Giese, summing up the previous four seasons with Perkiomen Valley. “I’ve received a lot of awards and honors since my freshman year — it’s really been indescribable looking back. When I first started playing field hockey (as a sixth grader), I never really thought I’d make it this far.”
Yet here she is. And if her high school career has been any indication, Giese’s time at Indiana should be just as rewarding.
AREA PLAYERS IN MAX FIELD HOCKEY TOP 50
Casey Allen – Conestoga
Margaux Paolino – Episcopal Academy
Megan Duvernois – Gwynedd Mercy Academy
Kelee Lepage – Twin Valley
