BOZEMAN -- The cancellation of the high school spring sports season hit a lot of athletes hard, especially Addi Ekstrom. The Bozeman athlete is on the verge of doing something historic: earning 12 varsity letters for her high school career.
“It would feel weird to be one away due to something that’s out of your hands, but at the end of the day you kind of have to sacrifice those things,” said Ekstrom, a junior at Bozeman High School.
Earning three letters per school year is no easy feat, especially in Class AA. Only seven athletes in the history of Bozeman athletics have ever accomplished the feat in both boys and girls sports. Names like Missy Orr, Alex Brekke and, most recently, Katie Keith are on that list.
Ekstrom is a standout athlete in soccer, basketball and track. Earning 12 letters wasn't her ultimate goal, but it is something she wants to cement her legacy as a Hawk.
“I feel like it’s something that I could always come back and say this is where I went to high school, this is what I accomplished. And it’s just a way to measure that, a way for me to celebrate my dedication and hard work over the last couple years," said Ekstrom.
Bozeman High School proudly displays its "Twelve Letter Winners" plaque right outside the South Gymnasium. It's almost full with the seven names already on it, but there is one empty space left, reserved for Ekstrom. She is the only athlete at Bozeman that is currently on pace to have 12 letters. She currently sits at eight heading into her senior season.
Now with the cancellation of the high school season in the spring, she may only finish her career with 11 letters, but she’s not giving up hope.
“I’m hoping to come up with a way to get that letter. Being at 11 and knowing that it wasn’t in your control to not get that last letter would be a little bit annoying, you just got to live with it. We’ll see, we’re trying to figure out a way to potentially get that letter back,” said Ekstrom.
Whether it ends up being 11 letters or 12, it doesn’t take away of her being one of the great athletes in Hawk history.
