Olivia Russell, a senior at Carterville High School, has been a phenomenal athlete for the Carterville Athletics program. Olivia is in two sports, Girls Golf and Girls Basketball, representing Carterville very well.

This year, Russell wants to accomplish keeping her grades up while playing sports. Maintaining good grades while being a two-sport athlete can be difficult. “Sports wise I want to keep our Girl’s Basketball streak alive, we’ve won multiple years in a row. Academic wise I just want to keep my grades up and make sure I’m staying busy on all my homework” said Russell.

Russell loves the competition. She loves how it motivates her to play and win her game. “ I’m always competing in something, I don’t care if it’s sports or academics. I love to win, I try to win as much as I can. I’m not a sore loser but I despise losing.”

So far this golf season is succeeding for Russell. This is her first year with the golf team and she hopes to make a good impression on herself. “Well, it’s definitely exceeding. Honesty, I didn’t think I’d do as well as I’d been doing. I thought that I wouldn’t even get to play varsity, but getting the chance to play varsity and being able to experience has motivated me. It’s a really big accomplishment.”

While Russell is proud of all of her teammates on the basketball, she is most proud of Lauren Lynch.  “We’ve gotten close over the past two years, and she’s improved tremendously from freshman year even Junior High. She’s my teammate, and I’ll always look up to her. She’s always there when I need her.” Russell has created a strong bond with Lynch and hopes for the best for her.