Skyline High School senior receives soccer scholarship

SALT LAKE CITY — Ashley Aberton, a senior at Skyline High School and a member of Saint Vincent de Paul Parish, has accepted a soccer scholarship to Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash.

Aberton lettered in soccer, basketball, and track in her freshman, sophomore and junior years and was First Team All-State for three years in soccer, and was a runner-up for basketball, which she played until this school year.

Aberton set Skyline’s soccer record this year with 22 goals for a season high and 54 goals for a career high. In track she runs the 100 and 200 meter, the 4x100 and the long jump. She also plays competition basketball and soccer, so she is involved in sports year-round.

"Ashley is driven and is a competitor," said Deb Bennett, Skyline athletic director and girls basketball head coach. "She is small in stature, but large in spirit and fight. It’s enjoyable to coach her because she is always physically fit. She works hard and is willing to hone her fundamental skills outside of the practice setting. She wants to perform at the highest level in anything she does, and she is focused. She is not only a good athlete, but has a high GPA."

In soccer Aberton seems to have an extra acceleration gear, said Bennett. "She is so fast and so quick to the ball that sometimes I think it’s hard for officials to actually perceive how quick she is. She is the leading scorer on our team and, pound for pound, she is the strongest athlete at our school. She is always working hard to be the best she can be. She has really evolved into a team leader and served as the soccer team captain her junior and senior years."

In basketball, Aberton played point guard.

"She worked hard to get the ball delivered to her teammates," said Bennett. "Last year in the state tournament, she did a phenomenal job, not only defending other team’s best guards, but also handling the ball under intense pressure. We made it to the semi-finals last year in basketball and Ashley knew the game plans as well as I did; she was like having my brain out there on the court. She really developed that coach on the court mentality and I was really disappointed she didn’t play as a senior. She made pressure free throws and just did a lot of good things on the court."

Aberton chose not to play basketball this year so she could concentrate on soccer and track, she said. "I’m excited to play soccer at Gonzaga. It has always been one of my dream schools, so it made the decision to go there a little easier. I love the community; it’s such a tight family and they support the soccer games. The soccer program is really good and the school is good academically."

Aberton plans to major in pre-law with an emphasis in business management or accounting and she would like to attend Gonzaga’s law school. Her favorite subjects outside of sports have been psychology, history and government, she said.

When Aberton was a sophomore, she and her brother Kyle organized the "Tackle and Pink" football game as a community service project. The game, between Cyprus and Cottonwood high schools, raised more than $10,000 for Swing for Life for breast cancer research and awareness. At the time, Kyle Aberton was a senior at Cottonwood; the project also incorporated students from many other schools.

"Athletics has allowed her to choose from many options; many schools were interested in her, including Ivy League schools," said Laura Aberton, Ashley Aberton’s mother. "She has a great academic record, but soccer really opened the doors to schools she may not have had a chance to go attend."