No rest for Noel

Senior four-sport standout at Siloam Springs

Photos by Bud Sullins/Illustration by Monica Hooper In the era of specialization, Siloam Springs senior Kenlie Noel is a rare find in high school sports these days. Noel is a four-sport athlete, having competed in cheerleading, volleyball, basketball and softball during her senior year. She signed last week to play volleyball and softball at Cottey College in Nevada, Mo.
Photos by Bud Sullins/Illustration by Monica Hooper In the era of specialization, Siloam Springs senior Kenlie Noel is a rare find in high school sports these days. Noel is a four-sport athlete, having competed in cheerleading, volleyball, basketball and softball during her senior year. She signed last week to play volleyball and softball at Cottey College in Nevada, Mo.

In an era of increasing specialization in high school sports, Kenlie Noel is the exception.

And she wouldn't have it any other way.

Noel, a 5-foot-10 senior at Siloam Springs High School, is a four-sport athlete -- cheerleading, volleyball, basketball and softball -- for the Lady Panthers, bouncing from one sport season to the next this school year.

"It's not really difficult," Noel said. "It keeps me out of trouble. When I'm not at home I'm at practice. It's really fun."

Last fall, Noel participated in volleyball and cheerleading before moving to basketball in the winter while also maintaining her spot on the cheer team.

Once basketball season ended, Noel jumped right into softball season.

"I think it's a great feat to accomplish to be a part of four sports," said SSHS volleyball coach Joellen Wright. "She has worked hard to manage all of that. The example she has set shows to the younger generation that it can be done and that you can move on to a higher level."

Wright also credited all the coaches at Siloam Springs who were able and willing to find a way to manage Noel's schedule.

"It's not easy, but we sacrificed and it worked," she said.

Noel signed last week to play volleyball and softball at Cottey College in Nevada, Mo.

Returning to volleyball

For Noel, the crowded senior schedule started in earnest last summer when she re-joined the volleyball team after not playing her junior year in favor of participating in competitive cheer.

Her return to the volleyball team made an instant impact on the Lady Panthers, her coach said.

"When Kenlie decided not to play, it was quite the bummer for us. She is such a positive, 'cheerleader' personality for the team, and also a competitor," Joellen Wright said. "So when she returned, she brought that life, energy and competitive spirit with her, which only made us better."

Noel had to work some rust out after not playing for a year, but by the start of the season she was a big contributor at middle blocker for the Lady Panthers, who went 17-16 and advanced to the semifinals of the Class 6A State Tournament.

"I missed playing with those girls," Noel said. "It was really fun playing with them again."

Noel finished the season with 57 kills, 41 total blocks and 18 aces.

"I think she was able to step back on the court and be a major piece of the puzzle because she is a good athlete," Joellen Wright said. "She worked hard for us and was coachable and very unselfish, so it didn't take long for her to find her spot on the floor."

Hello basketball!

When volleyball season ended in late October, Noel made the transition to the Lady Panthers' basketball team.

Going from volleyball to basketball can be a bit of a change, she said, because of the different muscle groups involved.

"It was a little difficult because of the running," Noel said. "We didn't run in volleyball as much. So whenever I went back to basketball, our first practice was straight running. I was like, oh I've got to work out some more."

Noel either started or was one of the first substitutions off the bench for the Lady Panthers.

She averaged 3.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game along with distributing 47 assists and forcing 56 turnovers for the season. Noel helped the Lady Panthers (9-22) advance to the Class 6A State Tournament.

"Kenlie is a lanky athlete," said girls basketball coach Tim Rippy. "For us, she was an effective rebounder and able to apply her wingspan on the wings of our zone defense.

"It's really neat to see her have success in multiple sports. We love having multi-sport athletes. They seem to be rare in this day and age, but almost all of our coaches were multi-sport athletes."

'Cheering' all the way

Throughout volleyball and basketball season, Noel never stopped her involvement with cheerleading.

She cheered at football games on Friday nights during the fall.

And during winter, after playing in her basketball games, it wasn't uncommon to see Noel change out of her basketball jersey into a cheerleading uniform and cheer during the boys' games.

"Kenlie is a quick learner and that has definitely helped when we needed her to jump in a routine," said SSHS cheer coach Jackie Clement. "She is a good leader on our team and is also a very positive person. These qualities are very helpful when she is playing multiple sports."

Clement credited Noel's family, particularly parents Brian and Melissa, for being supportive of their daughter's busy schedule.

"Her parents help facilitate communication between all the coaches so that Kenlie has every opportunity to be a successful four-sport athlete," Clement said. "Kenlie has also helped break the stereotype of cheerleaders only standing on the sidelines. Her involvement in the other sports and her representation of the cheer team have allowed others to see cheer as an athletic sport. I am very proud to have had Kenlie on our cheerleading team and look forward to seeing where her future takes her."

'College level outfielder'

Softball is Noel's top sport, and she joined the Lady Panthers the day after basketball season ended in early March.

Scott Wright has coached Noel for all four of her seasons with the Lady Panthers softball team, and he believes she'll be just fine in making the transition to playing college softball next season.

"She is already a college level outfielder," Scott Wright said. "I'm going to tell you that right now. In my opinion, maybe it's biased, but I think she's the best center fielder in 6A. I've seen some of the outfielders that are good. She's as good as it gets. She can cover ground. She reads the ball well off the bat. She can make about any catch we need her to make. She's outstanding."

Unfortunately for the Lady Panthers, because of team position needs at pitcher and catcher, Noel hasn't gotten to play a lot of center field her senior season.

"Right now we have her playing pitcher-catcher obviously with the situation that we're in, and she does those well," Scott Wright said. "That just shows you her all around ability. When she gets to the college level as an outfielder she will be outstanding."

Noel, a year-round travel softball player, is also solid with her bat.

Batting at the top of the order for the Lady Panthers (0-12, 0-8 5A/6A District 1) , she's hit 14 of 20 for a batting average of .700 with an inside the park home run.

Scott Wright also commented on Noel's achievements in the classroom.

"Her grades are outstanding," Scott Wright said. "She manages all those pieces well. She's got great relationships within the school with teachers and other students as well as other administration. She's a leader both on and off the field. She brings a great quality to all the athletic teams she plays on, especially to our softball team."

Cottey softball coach Mark Skapin is looking forward to getting to coach Noel next season.

"What led me to her originally was her tremendous athleticism," Skapin said. "I saw her at a top recruit camp in Bentonville. She was just flying all over the field. She had incredible speed, good power in the game. She had a couple of base hits. Above all that, she was just smiling the entire time I watched her play, and I just went to talk to her and she was bubbly and high energy. She seemed like the perfect glue-type of player that we're looking for and we're looking for a lot of outfielders in that class, and we need speed. She seemed like the perfect fit for what we're doing."

Sports on 04/18/2018