GRANITE CITY – Granite City High School sophomore athlete Abby Knight is what can be described as a “multi-dimensional” student-athlete. Abby is a star on the soccer team, a tennis player, and last fall she became known as one of the area’s kickers with significant potential for her final two years.
Abby’s head Warriors football coach Kindle Lyons said he always received “100 percent” out of the sophomore. Abby kicked several extra points and a 37-yard field goal against Carbondale added Coach Lyons. Abby is a Stillwater Senior Living Female Athlete of the Month for the Warriors.
“I think if she works hard in the weight room, she will be able to kick a 50-yarder,” Coach Lyons said. “I told everybody that she kicks better than most young men. She is a great multi-sports athlete and she does so many positive things around the school. I look for her to grow and continue to get better. She will be a big boost for us in the 2023 season with her kicking.”
Coach Lyons said the boys on the team see her as almost like “a little sister” and do their best to protect her on the field and at school.
“They are very supportive of Abby,” the coach added.
Granite City School District public relations coordinator Chris Mitchell said Abby is “a unique student-athlete.”
“She is very involved in so many different sports and activities,” Mitchell added. “She is a busy girl playing tennis and football, club soccer, and then high school soccer in the spring. She would also play club soccer some days after football practice this past fall. She would eat dinner after football practice and drive an hour for club soccer, get home at 10:30-11 and do it all over again the next day.”
Mitchell said he believes Abby’s kicking leg continues to get stronger and with more experience, her distance will improve for field goals and she could be one of the top kickers in the region during her junior and senior seasons.
