Athlete of the Year: Geneva Ratcliff

PALMER — Stanley Ratcliff has always known that there’s something that sets his daughter Geneva apart.

As Ratcliff recalls Geneva’s academic and athletic achievements at Palmer High School and looks toward his daughter’s promising future that includes a career in the United States Navy, the proud father can’t help but think about Geneva as a little girl.

As far back as when Geneva was in kindergarten and the first grade, Ratcliff knew his daughter had the disposition and determination to succeed.

“She had the biggest smile you’ve ever seen,” Ratcliff. “She showed us right there. It’s not just determination. It’s determination with a happy spirit.”

Fueled by that spirit, Geneva Ratcliff ended her four years at Palmer High by competing in four varsity sports during her senior year, while maintaining a 3.76 grade point average.

In recognition of her accomplishments, both academic and athletic, Geneva Ratcliff has been named a 2007-08 Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman Prep Student-Athlete of the Year.

Ratcliff is one of nine student-athletes nominated by five Mat-Su Valley high schools. The local high schools — Colony, Houston, Palmer, Susitna Valley and Wasilla — could nominate a male and female senior student-athletes who each stood out in at least one varsity sport, while maintaining a minimum 3.0 grade point average.

The winners of the inaugural award — Ratcliff and Wasilla graduate Adam Friese — were chosen by an independent committee, which included a group of Valley residents who have long been familiar with Mat-Su sports but are not currently affiliated with any high school.

Ratcliff carried an academic and athletic load that few could rival at Palmer High.

In athletics, the four-sport standout’s senior year started on the hardwood, where she earned second-team All-Northern Lights Conference in volleyball and helped the Moose spikers earn an NLC crown on their home court while clinching a spot in the 4A state championships.

Following the volleyball season, she stayed on that same court to compete on the PHS girls’ basketball squad. She would again earn second-team All-Northern Lights Conference honors, and help her squad score a spot in the 4A state tournament.

In the spring, Ratcliff didn’t slow down. If anything, she sped up.

The top player on the softball squad for her first three years at Palmer High, Ratcliff was thrown a curve ball when the Palmer administration opted to cancel the softball season due to lack of interest.

But that didn’t keep Ratcliff off the diamond, and she joined the Palmer boys’ baseball squad.

Not only did she participate in a boys’ sport during the spring, she also joined the track and field squad for the first time since her freshman season.

After a two-year hiatus from the track team, Ratcliff returned to post second-place finishes in the shot put and discus at both the NLC and 4A state championships.

How did Ratcliff manage to fit four prep seasons into one year of high school?

“Pure determination,” Stanley Ratcliff said. “She feeds off hard work.”

While many kids may give up athletics when sports become more of a commitment, Stanley Ratcliff said his daughter’s work ethic allowed for continued success.

“For some kids, when sports start getting hard, it’s not fun anymore,” Stanley Ratcliff said. “But for her, the older she gets, the funner it gets. For her it’s another year of having fun.

“We’ve been so delighted with her.”

Ratcliff did all of that while taking on an ambitious academic course load. She enrolled in advanced placement classes and took part in Palmer’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program, which includes a series of college level courses.

Ratcliff took IB history, IB physics and IB biology in addition to AP calculus.

“There were a lot of long nights staying up and doing homework,” said Ratcliff, who has aspirations of a career in engineering.

Ratcliff’s first step toward that career involves a stay in the Navy, which she will start later this month when she reports to basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Base outside of Chicago, Ill.

Following basic training, Ratcliff will study in the Navy’s nuclear program.

“My main goal was to find out what would pay for college,” said Ratcliff, who has committed to two years of schooling in the Navy program followed by four years of active duty.

With a schedule crammed full of advanced placement courses and after-school practices, there is one thing Ratcliff did have to push aside.

“There is one thing she had to drop,” Stanley Ratcliff said with a laugh. “She played the clarinet in the ninth and 10th grade.”

But she continued to participate in chorus, he quickly said, before he once again couldn’t help but think about Geneva as a little girl.

“She started balancing everything, along with her beautiful smile in kindergarten,” Stanley Ratcliff said.