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Many top softball players are multi-sport athletes, which usually involves playing a combination of basketball, volleyball and/or track.
Not many, however, can add to their resume the sport Annie-Kate Dalton, a sophomore at Murphy High in Murphy, North Carolina, played this fall: football.
One of the top catchers in the Class of 2021 and a strong candidate to make the 2021 Extra Elite 100, she was the starting kicker on the Bulldogs team that went 13-1 and won the North Carolina 1A state championship on December 15 with a 60-27 victory over Pamlico County.
*** To see the schedule for the 2021 Extra Elite 100 rankings, click HERE! ***
For the season, the North Carolina commit for softball had 29 kickoffs including 12 in one game alone–a 71-22 win over Rosman High–in which she also kicked a 33-yard field goal (she missed a 40-yard attempt in her only other try during the season).
Annie-Kate also went 30-for-37 in PATs to give her 33 points for the season–good enough to earn All-Smoky Mountain Conference Honorable Mention recognition.
A pretty good year considering she had never kicked a football before this year.
“I am blessed to be part of another amazing group of athletes,” she said of playing with the state champs on the gridiron.
“I never imagined myself as a kicker for my high school football team. These guys have really made me feel like part of the team. It truly feels like family, just as my (club softball team) Georgia Impact does.”
When asked if kicking a football was difficult, she stated that it didn’t come as easy as softball.
“I am lucky to have a father who kicked in high school and my Grandpa (David Irving) played professional soccer for Everton F.C. (an English Premier League team) and the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers. They have so much experience and really good insight when I need help.”