Joins volleyball, basketball rosters in Aberdeen, S.D.

Recent Powell High School graduate Kendra Ostrom will compete in volleyball and women’s basketball for Presentation College, according to that institution’s sports information department. Presentation College is an NCAA Division III-affiliated school located in Aberdeen, S.D.

Ostrom was named the senior athlete-of-the-year at Powell High School earlier this month and was a three-sport standout during her days as a Panther.

As a senior, Ostrom delivered 198 kills and 267 digs for the Panthers’ volleyball program, finishing as both the team’s top attacker and its top defender this past season. She finished her senior basketball season with a team-best 246 points scored for the Panthers. Her scoring average of 9.1 points per game this past winter ranked her ninth among all players in the 3A West conference.

Ostrom’s efforts were rewarded as she was voted the most valuable player for both the Panthers’ volleyball team and the girls’ basketball program this past year.

Ostrom was also a three-time qualifier for the state track meet for Panther head coach Scott Smith. She was forced to forego her senior season in that sport as she recuperated from a knee injury that limited her for the majority of her senior year.

“Kendra is a nice athlete,” said Panther volleyball coach Cindi Smith. “She is the sort of kid who will put a lot of time in and who will commit herself athletically.”

Smith noted that level of dedication and drive would be Kendra’s biggest asset as she tackles playing two sports in college.

“She’s the sort of kid that puts in the extra time and gives 100 percent,” said Smith, who also coached Ostrom in basketball as an eighth grader and noted that, even back then, she could see something extra in Kendra’s work ethic. “That will be a great benefit for the program. She’ll learn their systems and do what she needs to do to help bring success into their program.”

In addition, Smith says she also sees Presentation College getting a future leader with Ostrom.

“She was our leader and she was a good leader,” said Smith. “That’s what they want is kids who will come in and help to build their program. It’s nice when kids’ hard work pays off and they can go on and continue to play.”

Presentation College went 4-20 this past women’s basketball season. The Presentation College volleyball program ended its 2011 season with a 5-25 overall mark.

Ostrom becomes the third graduate of Powell High School to compete with the Saints’ athletic programs. PHS grads Fabio Soto and Kyle Woodward were both members of the Presentation College football team this past autumn.