POLAND, Ohio (WKBN) – Poland senior Ariana Daniels is a four-year member of the girls basketball team. She’s the starting point guard, and has helped lead the Bulldogs to 17 wins this season, and the Northeast Eight Conference title.
Daniels is also a three-year starter on the soccer team, which is coming off their first District Championship in 18 years.
“I definitely love roughing up the bigger girls because that’s just my thing,” says Daniels. “I just like to be very physical when I play.”
Daniels was named First Team All-State last fall and Division III District Player of the Year. She scored 24 goals, shattering the single season school record.
“It’s a really great feeling,” says Daniels. “I know that the girls are proud of me and I’m proud of them because without them I wouldn’t have been able to come as far as I did and with my coaches. So it definitely feels really good.”
Daniels has spent the last two years at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center studying nursing. In fact, she’s already a certified medical assistant and phlebotomist, which means, as a high school teenager, she can draw blood from patients.
“I’m definitely very comfortable with it,” says Daniels. “No big deal.”
Daniels is just as competitive in the classroom, carrying a 3.74 grade point average.
“Growing up, my mom was always telling me grades come first. If you’re going to be a student athlete, then you need to be the student first,” says Daniels. “I definitely love when I see an A on my paper and if it’s anything below it, I’m not very happy. So I’m definitely competitive when it comes to school.”
