Amber Kolpakas of Galway Named to CDSWOY 2024 Class
ALBANY, NY – Amber Kolpakas, a senior at Galway High School, has been named as one of the 10 scholastic award recipients for 2024 by the Capital District Sports Women of the Year organization.
Amber, who competes in basketball, softball and volleyball, will be recognized at the Capital District Sports Women of the Year Awards Gala on Monday, August 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the GE Theatre at Proctors in Schenectady. Tickets will be available online at proctors.org or at the Proctors Box Office in July.
The Capital District Sports Women of the Year organization (CDSWOY) honors the best and brightest female student athletes from high schools and colleges in the Capital District of New York State. The student-athletes will be recognized for their achievements in academics, athletics, and community service. More information is provided at the website: cdswoy.com.
Academically, Amber ranks 10th in her class at Galway. Athletically, Amber was a three-time First Team All-State selection in volleyball and was a two-time league Most Valuable Player and Offensive Most Valuable Player twice each. She was a four-time Section 2 First Team All-Star and was selected to the Albany Times Union Section 2 All-Star team, the only small school player selected. She made the All-State First Team twice and Second Team once. Amber made the New York State All-Tournament Team three times in her career. She set a school record with 1,578 career kills and recorded 1,028 career digs. On the softball field, Amber was the League Most Valuable Player twice and three-time Division MVP. She was selected to the Section 2 All-League First Team twice and once received Second Team honors.
Amber’s community service includes making personal hygiene packages for a backpack program and making blankets for a dog shelter. She assisted a teacher by organizing musical performances for a service project. Amber is extremely active with youth coaching in the community, including youth softball and volleyball camps. She also helped softball little leaguers to learn how to pitch.
Amber becomes the fourth Galway High School student-athlete selected by CDSWOY. She joins Grace O’Brien (2023), Isabella Mancini (2021) and Rachel Wnuk (2020, the first year of CDSWOY).
A total of 10 high school and three college female student-athletes will be honored at the August 12 event. The next recipient will be announced on June 19.
