Richland Source will select one student athlete to be recognized as the Park National Bank Athlete of the Month during the 2023-24 school year. Nominations for Athlete of the Month are accepted from Athletic Directors and Coaches, but are ultimately chosen by Richland Source and are based on the student’s exceptional athletic performance, effective teamwork and achievement in their communities. Park National Bank is proud to support this initiative and is giving the athletic department of each school $1,000 in honor of each athlete chosen.
BELLVILLE — There aren’t enough hours in the day for Annika Labaki.
Clear Fork’s multi-sport standout spends more time perfecting her crafts than just about anyone The Valley has ever produced.
Labaki is November’s Park National Bank Athlete of the Month.
A senior, Labaki earned a spot on the Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association All-Ohio first team in Division II last month after breaking the program’s single-game, single-season and career assists records during the season.
She passed Clear Fork coach Brittany Bechtel to become the program’s single-season leader and supplanted former great Deijah Swihart atop the career assists list.
“She is our quarterback,” Bechtel said after a season-opening win over Madison. “She’s very unselfish.”
A second-team All-Ohioan as a junior, Labaki has been a regular in the Clear Fork lineup since her freshman season. She scored six goals and added five assists as the Colts went 10-7-1 and reached the district tournament.
As a sophomore, Labaki had 14 assists to go with her seven goals. The Colts were 11-5-2 and again reached the district semifinals.
Labaki scored 14 goals and had 15 assists as a junior. The Colts were 13-4-2 and won another sectional crown.
Her scoring dipped this season — she scored just five goals — but she had 23 assists, breaking Bechtel’s single-season mark of 18. She passed Swihart’s career record of 48.
For her career, Labaki scored 32 goals and added 57 assists.
“It felt pretty good,” Labaki said of breaking the assist records. “It goes to show teamwork, too. It wasn’t just me. We had a lot of girls up top who could get the job done.”
Breaking school records is nothing new to Labaki. On the basketball court, the sharpshooter owns the single-game and single-season records for 3-pointers and will likely break Becca Mottayaw’s career mark of 134 treys.
“She spends a lot of time working on everything she wants to excel at. This summer I saw her go from basketball for an hour to soccer for an hour and then to work,” Clear Fork girls basketball coach Scott Sellers said. “She’s a straight-A student. She’s had an incredible soccer career. She’s closing in on our career 3-point record. Those things don’t happen by accident.
“She makes over 25,000 shots every summer. Between basketball and soccer, I don’t know that I’ve seen many kids work harder. Every accolade she’s gotten, she’s deserved.”
With the support and encouragement of her family, including older brother and former Clear Fork soccer standout Luke, Annika has spent countless hours outside of organized team practices and training sessions working on the finer points of both soccer and basketball.
“I grew up playing three sports. I put a lot of time into all sports, especially with my brother who played the same three sports as well,” Labaki said. “But as I got into middle school, I started to focus on soccer and basketball a little bit more.
“I’ve spent a lot of time outside of practice working on both sports. My dad and my brother make sure I keep myself accountable.”
All the hard work has paid off for Labaki. She plans to play soccer collegiately at Mount Vernon Nazarene University.
So what does she need to work on before she arrives on campus?
“I’ve got to work on a little bit of everything, little fundamental things,” Labaki said. “NAIA is tough. There will be some good soccer.”
MVNU was 8-7-3 this season, falling 1-0 to Marian (Ind.) University in the quarterfinals of the Crossroads League Tournament in Indianapolis. The Cougars finished fifth in the 10-team Crossroads standings at 5-3-1.
College soccer will have to wait for the time being. For now, Labaki is focused on her senior basketball season. The Colts were 17-8 and reached the Division III district tournament last year.
She matched Clear Fork’s single-game record when she connected on seven 3-pointers in a win over Galion last year. Her 62 treys broke Mottayaw’s single-season mark of 55 set in 2007.
Sellers, who is in his fourth season, welcomed four seniors this winter. Clear Fork is 5-1 going into Friday’s Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference showdown against unbeaten Pleasant.
“It’s a really special group. This is my first group of seniors that I’ve had for four years,” Sellers said. “They’re incredibly special to me.”
Big things are expected of the 5-foot-6 Labaki after she averaged 8.3 points a game as a junior. More important than her production, Sellers said, is her leadership ability.
“She shows up early. She leaves last. She’s shown the younger kids what it means to be a captain,” Sellers said. “She volunteers her time. There’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t get written about that I see her do. It’s special to see.”
It’s a role Labaki embraces.
“I think it’s really nice to know you’re respected by the girls and the coaches as well,” Labaki said. “It’s important to lead by example and show (the younger girls) what our culture is supposed to look like.”
Clear Fork couldn’t ask for a better ambassador, athletic director Jessica Brokaw said.
“Annika is a coach’s favorite,” Brokaw said. “She does the right things when no one is looking and is a workhorse on and off the field.”