Liberty senior is this week’s Student Athlete of the Week

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) -The Liberty County volleyball team is heading into the playoffs sitting at 23-4, a stellar record. One of the key players in their fight towards a state title, Swanzetter Wood. The senior is a star on the Bulldog track team, and is clearly, killing it on the court, all while keeping up with a 3.56 GPA. For Swanzetter, the court and the grades are important, but the impact on those who watch means just as much.

“A lot of kids look up to you that you don’t know about, so when you go in a place, you want people to be able to say something positive about you.” Wood told me. For head coach, Jennifer Sewell, it’s seniors like Swanzetter that make each year bittersweet.

“She’s a great kid. Hard worker.” Coach Sewell says. “She can jump out of the gym. It’s exciting to come watch her play, watch her hit the ball. She hits the ball really hard. She loves her teammates. I’m going to miss her when she’s gone. She is definitely a contender.” For Swanzetter, the balance of academic and court excellence has served her well. “It’s introduced me to being a leader, and being someone that people look up to. It’s also helping me go to have an opportunity to go to college because of the person I am and my grades and volleyball have given me the chance to do that.” Coach Sewell thinks seniors like Swanzetter set the tone for building the Bulldog volleyball program. “A lot of these underclassmen look up to her. She talks to them about different classes and things. She’s always concerned about her grades. She’s already doing dual enrollment classes and things like that. She’s a very smart kid.”

Newschannel 7′s Student Athlete of the Week is sponsored by Walborsky, Bradley and Fleming.

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