Profile: Danielle Armstrong was hoping to take Pioneer lacrosse to the next level

Danielle Armstrong has certainly taken advantage of what high school has to offer. When she graduates from Pioneer in a couple of months, she will leave with a lot of the boxes checked off and that alone can be a very rewarding feeling.

It also can set a person on a path of success. And the Pioneer senior has been walking – sometimes running – that path for years.

Armstrong has a 3.88 GPA and was a member of the school’s Recycling Club and Foreign Exchange club. She also is a member of the school’s lacrosse team and ran cross country in the fall.

Let’s head to the starting line of cross country and take a jog to the finish line. The Pioneers were state champions this past season and Armstrong is a great example of just how great Pioneer was in girls’ cross country.

She finished last among Pioneer runners at the Division 1 Regional at Lake Erie Metropark in late October with her time of 20:30.45. But she finished 28^th overall in a field of 106 runners – that’s how good she was and, of course, her team.

Armstrong had six top 30 finishes as a senior and took eighth at the Portage Invitational on Oct. 8. Her best time of the year came at the state finals when she went 20:13.5.

“Cross Country was great,” she says. “Both Nancy and Ian are great coaches and helped me improve a lot and made cross country very enjoyable. We won states which was incredible.”

But her go-to sport is lacrosse and the Pioneers were ready to go to big places this spring with Armstrong helping lead the way. A talented midfielder, Armstrong was All-League in lacrosse as a sophomore and junior after making the varsity team as a freshman.

“My sophomore year we lost in the Regional semifinal and my freshman and junior year we lost in the Regional final,” said Armstrong. “This year, we wanted to win Regionals and do whatever it takes to win.

“I like the close competitive back and forth games in lacrosse the best. I enjoy working together as a team to get the win.”

Danielle, the daughter of Lori Sella Armstrong and Steve Armstrong, is doing what everyone else is currently doing. But she hasn’t given up hope that her senior year could be lost.

“I’ve spent my time going on runs, watching movies, playing board games, cooking and face timing friends,” she says. “I miss school and I’m hoping we get back in time to play at least one senior night game.”

Armstrong started playing lacrosse in eighth grade after kicking soccer goodbye. And it was game on from that point on.

She hasn’t decided on a college just yet and is figuring out whether she wants to make lacrosse part of her future.

Whatever happens in the next month or so, she can look back with great pride on her time at Pioneer. And she’s especially proud of the lacrosse team.

“Looking back, I’m proud of the progress we made as a team over the years and how we all improved and had fun while working hard,” she said.