Among the athletes at Sterling High School, there is an impressive amount of dedication and constant desire to keep improving. With a large number of students with unparalleled commitment and talent, athletes must go above and beyond with not only hard work and talent but leadership and teamwork. Along with broken record after broken record, Alice Sotelo from the class of 2023 is a fierce leader and encouraging teammate, earning her the title of the female recipient of the 2023 Roscoe Eades Award.Sotelo began each school year as a dancer on the football poms team. Additionally, Sotelo participated as a dancer on the basketball poms team in the winter. Being a proud member of both poms squads, Sotelo earned the well-deserved Most Valuable Dancer Award as a four-year captain. She was a natural-born leader and always gave it her all during the halftime shows at Sterling High School. “Being a team captain my freshman year started off my journey of being a leader very early, and I could never thank the poms program enough for that,” said Sotelo.Sotelo looks back on her time in the poms program with the utmost pride. “There is absolutely no way to describe the love I have for the poms program, as well as my team members. The poms program taught me so much as a person and teammate.”While Sotelo consistently showed impressive dedication during her poms career, Sotelo is largely acclaimed for her outstanding track career. In her sophomore year, she achieved second place in the triple jump at sectionals, qualifying for state. Sotelo’s hard work was seen from the start by head girls track coach Tyler Gaumer. “Her determination was incredible but combine that with her work effort and all signs pointed to her achieving great things,” shared Gaumer.Coming into her junior year of track and field, Sotelo displayed pure dominance only earning anything other than first place in two meets all year in triple jump. She picked up right where she left off and went beyond where she even thought she could go, breaking the indoor and outdoor S.H.S. record in the triple jump. The accolades didn’t stop there with Sotelo qualifying for Indoor State and later on becoming the Western Big 6 conference and sectional champion in triple jump. Sotelo said, “Confidence and determination are what truly got me ready for the state meet. I was never nervous or afraid, I was ready and prepared to go out and give everything I had.”Sotelo represented S.H.S. well by becoming the IHSA 2A State Champion in triple jump after a hard-fought track and field season. Following the win, Sotelo was given recognition for her hard work with awards including the Sauk Valley Media Athlete of the Year in Track and Field, team MVP, Congressional Award of Excellence from Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, earning the Citizen of Excellence award from the City of Sterling earning “Alice Sotelo Day,” and Whiteside County Board recognition. It was truly a year to remember for the entire Sotelo family. “It was a feeling no one would understand,” said Sotelo. “I was so proud of myself for never giving up and for continuing to push myself to my limit even when times got unbelievably hard.”Coming into her senior year, the record-breaking didn’t stop there with Sotelo wasting no time breaking the indoor and outdoor records she had recorded the previous year and setting a new S.H.S. record at 11.76 meters. She also finished first in the triple jump at every meet except three. Sotelo would become the sectional champion in triple jump and 4x200 relay and qualify for the IHSA State Meet in four events, which is the maximum allowed.Reaching state with the chance for a repeat in the triple jump was the perfect opportunity for Sotelo with already a great track season under her belt. Sotelo placed second at the IHSA State Track Meet concluding the final chapter of her Sterling High School Track and Field career. She was awarded the Team MVP, Captain Award, and Sauk Valley Media Athlete of the Week. Sotelo made sure to make school a priority as well during her busy schedule and received Scholar Athlete of the Month and Student of the Month during her senior year. “Track and field at Sterling meant the absolute world to me. The program made me who I am today and taught me things no one could be taught outside of a sport. I would never be able to thank my coaches and teammates enough for the things they did for me.”Even with her stellar track career, perhaps what Alice Sotelo will be most known for is her humility and competitive nature. “You could ask anyone on the track team and they could go on and on about how strong of a leader Alice is for the team,” said fellow track member Kaydence Weeks ’23. “She was always pushing her teammates to be better in many different ways and her positive attitude and all-around spontaneous personality made her enjoyable to be around and learn from.” Sotelo gave credit to her parents by saying, “My parents were my biggest mentors in my high school career and guided me through everything. Other than my parents, I really looked up to my dad’s late best friend, Ryan Schafer. I used the many stories I heard about him and his success as a motivator for many of my accomplishments. I had a very special relationship with him, even though he was only ever with me in spirit.”Upon winning the Roscoe Eades award, the long wait was finally over for Sotelo. “Winning Roscoe Eades was a dream for me. I’ve wanted to win this award since even before I was in high school, and honestly before I even knew what it was. I was always told it was an honor to be given this award, and since then I knew I wanted to do everything I could to receive it, and I am very thankful that I did,” Sotelo shared.Sotelo plans to further her academic and track and field career at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.