Winner of the Week: Kayla Hurley

spot on the team and book my plane ticket to Paris was amazing.) FOR MANY HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES - GETTING TO - LET ALONE áWINNING A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP - IS SOMETHING OF A DREAM COME TRUE. BUT FOR OUR 40/29 WINNER OF THE WEEK - IT WAS THE SUCCESS THAT FOLLOWED THAT MADE IT ALL THE MORE SPECIAL. BENTONVILLE SENIOR KAYLA HURLEY PLAYED ALL FOUR YEARS ON THE LADY TIGERS VARSITY SOCCER TEAM... BUT SEEMINGLY SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST. IN HER FINAL SEASON - THE MIDFIELDER RECORDED 24 GOALS AND 8 ASSISTS... LEADING THE TEAM TO AN IMPRESSIVE 18-2 AND 1 RECORD. BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY - SHE PLAYED A PIVOTAL ROLE IN HELPING BENTONVILLE SECURE BACK-TO-BACK 6-A STATE TITLES... BEING NAMED FINALS MVP IN THE 4-2 WIN OVER ROGERS. ON TOP OF THAT - HURLEY WAS ALSO CROWNED THE 6-A WEST'S MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER... BEFORE PICKING UP áSTATEWIDE RECOGNITION AS THE ARKANSAS GATORADE PLAYER OF THE YEAR. <> (That definitely was a big factor. I mean, I have been nominated before and I have lost before, obviously. So, throughout the season I was thinking like, 'oh, that like it would be great to win that,' but also we were just playing to win every game. And so like, while winning those awards were a huge factor, probably the bigger factor was just like playing for my team and playing to win.) <> (You know, she checks all the boxes athletically, technically, tactically, but I think one of her greatest attributes is her will to win. You know, she wants it so much she's willing to work really, really hard and sacrifice for the team.) HURLEY'S WORK ON THE PITCH FAR FROM FINISHED... AS SHE'S COMMITTED TO PLAY FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS IN THE FALL. AND IF YOU KNOW A LOCAL ATHLETE WHO SHOULD BE CONSIDERED