News 3 Sports would like to congratulate our latest Classroom Champion Katie Giles. The Iola High School senior has a 3.3 Grade Point Average and is in the top twenty percent of her class.

Katie is a member of the basketball and track and field teams. She was 1st Team All-District and 1st Team All-Academic in basketball. Katie is a also member of several organizations, such as: the National Honor Society, Student Council, FCCLA, campus Crime Stoppers and a senior class officer.

"She's real good about getting her work done. She will come to me ahead of time when she knows she's not going to be here, so she's not behind, she tries not to get behind. She has a father who's very helpful in that regard anyway...But she handles it real well. If she's not here She doesn't use that as an excuse for not being prepared for class. She gets her work done, gets it done on time, and she does pretty well most of the time.

"Katie has been our senior for two years in a row being last year we didn't have a senior on the court. She really stepped in that role. She doesn't take charge but she's definitely a leader to the other girls; they really look up to her. If they have a question she's definitely the one they go to first. She's kind of a spokesperson for the whole team. So she's a great leader, great for the younger girls, and definitely someone they can follow and be a good example for."

"Being a scholar athlete has been a challenge trying to juggle academics and being a student athlete. But, you just have to stay focused and get what you need to be done and get finished. It's kind of like how I was raised, I know academics come first and working hard on the court is something you do for your coaches, and working hard in the classroom is something you do for your teachers. I definitely had to work at it. Last year we didn't have any seniors on the team so I really had to step up and be a team leader for my teammates."

Katie plans on attending Texas A&M University and majoring in biology.
Congratulations to Katie Giles of Iola High School. This week's News 3 Sports Classroom Champion!