A broken fibula couldn’t keep Austin Williams from playing center for Lewis Palmer’s hockey team this past year. With his leg healed, he played in every game, including the state championship at the Pepsi Center in March, where Lewis Palmer defeated Regis 5-2. Williams helped seal the team’s reign as back-to-back 5A state champions.Williams, now a sophomore at Falcon High School, began playing for Lewis Palmer as a freshman and is the first player on the team from outside School District 38. His mom, Kim Williams, said, “He chose to try out for a really competitive team, knowing there was a chance that he might not make it. Normally, you try out for a district and they throw you on a team, but in District 38, they only have one team.”Williams began playing hockey at age 5. When he was 8 years old, he moved to Falcon with his family and began playing on club teams. During his eighth-grade year, Williams played for the Colorado Hockey Club Bantam AA team level. His team took home the state title that season.Playing for a different school hasn’t always been easy, Williams said. “It’s been getting a lot better lately,” he said. “Last year, when we won the state title, I didn’t get recognized at all. This year, they had a pep rally for me and pulled all the kids into the gym for an assembly.”As a student athlete at Lewis Palmer, Williams underwent weekly eligibility checks to ensure his grades weren’t slipping. Although hockey season is over, Williams must keep his grades up because he also plays varsity roller hockey and junior varsity lacrosse for Lewis Palmer.”In the next couple of years, I’d like to play AAA travel team hockey and win a national title,” Williams said. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my team right now, but that’s the next thing I want to accomplish. I’d also love to go to the University of Duluth.”
