Kirscher caps eventful three-sport season
<p>Sandpoint senior Maggie Kirscher and the Bulldogs will be looking to extend their season today in a loser-out game at Moscow. (Photo by ERIC PLUMMER)</p>
SANDPOINT — First it was tending goal on the state runner-up girls soccer team, followed by another season of leading the basketball team in scoring, and finally capped by leading the softball team in hitting and RBIs.
Suffice it to say, it’s been an eventful year for Sandpoint senior three-sport standout Maggie Kirscher, who is hoping to prolong the season with a win in Moscow tonight.
And oh by the way, she can fly an airplane too. Kirscher got her pilot’s license this summer, under the instruction of Ken Larson, then promptly completed her first solo flight in September.
“I was nervous, but I knew what I was doing,” said Kirscher of her first solo effort. “I want to be a missionary pilot in Africa; that’s my goal.”
A noble ambition, to be sure, but that didn’t help ease the mind of assistant softball coach Gary Circo when Kirscher first took to the skies.
“Knowing she’s up in the air flying makes me nervous,” admitted Circo. “I’ve never been so nervous.”
While she loves all three sports, basketball would get the nod if she had to choose one. Featuring a polished offensive game, she might try and play in college if the right opportunity presents itself.
When she’s not playing sports, she enjoys drawing, and takes an Advanced-Placement art class at SHS. Like many athletes, it’s the thrill of competition that compels her to play sports.
“I like that you can be as good as you want to be,” said Kirscher. “The hard work you put in correlates directly.”
Kirscher, a solid fielding shortstop, is right at the .400 mark this season in the No. 3 spot in the batting order, leading the team in RBIs. She has also teamed with junior Casey Bottomley as the Bulldogs’ prime inning eaters on the mound.
In the fall she posted four shutouts as the starting goalkeeper, and scored double figures in nearly every basketball game this winter, including a season-high of 36 against West Valley.
Sandpoint head coach Derek Dickinson has seen firsthand the skills that make Kirscher one of the better all-around athletes to come through Sandpoint in recent memory.
“She’s in that upper echelon of talented athletes to come through SHS. She can compete at that high level in all three sports,” said Dickinson. “She’s real genuine, cares, and wants the team to be successful.”
Kirscher wanted to thank parents Keith and Pam for being so supportive.