OHS has many athletes who are fine students, but Amanda FitzWilliam (12) was named the school’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch Scholar-Athlete for many reasons.

For athletic reasons, the list is long. Her bio consists of softball conference player of the year, first team all-state (2019), first-team all-metro (2019), three-time all-region and four-time all-district. She also tied the school single-season home run record with 13 last fall. As a starter in basketball, she made first-team all-district this past season. As a junior, she made the conference all-defensive team and was honorable mention all-conference.

For academic reasons, this member of the National Honor Society was a DECA state finalist in 2019, DECA state qualifier in 2020, FBLA state qualifier in 2019-2020, and academic all-state in softball.

FitzWilliam says it feels great to be recognized for all the hard work student athletes do. “It’s an honor to be chosen,” FitzWilliam said. “I’m glad that this award exists to shine a light on those excelling both on the field and in the classroom.”

Rich Sturm, varsity baseball and softball coach, said it was great having her as a player.

“Amanda had a tremendous softball career at Oakville,” Sturm said. “Amanda’s senior year last fall was one of the best offensive seasons in Oakville softball history.” 

FitzWilliam finished her final softball season with a batting average of .409, on base percentage on .466 and hit the walk off home run that sent the girls to play for the district championship. She hit two more home runs the next day as the Tigers beat Rockwood Summit 13-8 to capture the district title.

While deciding not to continue her athletic career in college, FitzWilliam plans to pursue a degree in business at Clemson University. She told the Post-Dispatch that she hopes to become “a successful human rights lawyer.”

“I wish Amanda nothing but the best at Clemson,” said Sturm. “She is going to do great things there and is going to do awesome things with her life.”