Say what you want about Audrey Hurleman, she’s a winner for all seasons
(Third of a seven-part series)
Audrey Hurleman’s coaches use the unkindest words when speaking about her.
Her soccer coach at Wyomissing calls her a “beast.”
Her basketball coach says she makes people “miserable.”
Her lacrosse coach says the rising junior can be “stubborn.”
Each say these things are said in the most flattering ways, of course. It would be hard to find a true flaw in Hurleman’s game: Her skills and all-around athleticism, her devotion to three sports and to the teammates she loves playing with and supporting.
She plays each of her sports with aplomb and never forgets the best advice any athlete will ever hear:
“The best player on the field is the one who makes everyone else better.”
Her dad, Jason, reminds Audrey and her siblings of that before every game.
Hurleman has collected many personal accolades in her brief time with the Spartans – she earned All-Berks honors in both lacrosse and soccer this year as a sophomore, and all-division honors in basketball – but it’s the team aspect she concerns herself with most.
“I always want to be involved with my teammates and help them succeed, and to have a team to succeed with,” she says.
That comment sounds almost pollyannish, but Hurleman walks the walk. Watch her play and you know right away team comes first.
She played a pivotal role in leading Wyomissing’s lacrosse team to the best season in program history. The Spartans went 18-3 and tied for first place with Berks lacrosse titans Twin Valley and Wilson – the eventual District 3 Class 2A champ and 3A runner-up, respectively.
With leading scorer, Alexia Polyak, injured and unavailable in the postseason she held things together as the Spartans nearly took out Twin Valley in the BCIAA title game; they came up one goal short.
“She plays both ends so well,” said Wyomissing lacrosse coach Keith Reidinger of the midfielder. “I mean, the kid is just smart and tough. She’s easy to coach, but at the same time she can be stubborn: She’ll challenge you, and ask questions, which is great.”
Hurleman scored 40 goals and had a team-high 24 assists this spring. Those numbers tell only a portion of the story.
“A lot of kids can score,” Reidinger said, “but not a lot of kids can do what she can do off-ball, defensively, or in transition.”
Hurleman didn’t score much at all in basketball; she went the whole season without hitting a 3-pointer and cracked double digits just once –and just barely at that.
Didn’t matter. She was a critical piece to the Berks League’s best defense. In fact, Aaron Anders designed his match-up zone defense largely with her mind, employing her out front and to disrupt passing lanes and create havoc. She’s 5-8 with a wide wingspan and pure defensive instincts.
Anders dubbed her “Captain Chaos.”
“Audrey just makes people miserable,” he said early in a run that carried the Spartans to league and district championships and a program-record 28 wins. “She makes it next-to-impossible to start an offense.”
With the ballhawking Hurleman at the top and 6-1 shot-blocking Amaya Stewart inside the Spartans were next-to-impossible to finish against, as well. They allowed 30 or fewer points 18 times and 20 or fewer seven times.
Hurleman was always one of the taller girls in youth basketball and played under the basket. She made a seamless transition to the perimeter after reaching high school.
“Being on the outside, being able to provide and help (Amaya), feels like a special spot,” she said.
Her most impressive work may have come in the fall when she was one of the keys on a Wyomissing team that went 24-2, beat Wilson 1-0 in the BCIAA title game, won a third straight district championship and advanced to the PIAA semifinals.
Rachel Hoffman was concerned about the defense after graduating her entire back line so she moved Hurleman – a front-line player and key reserve as a freshman – to centre back, generally considered the most important position on the field, next to keeper.
“It was a hard decision to take her away from the attack,” the Spartans coach admitted.
Judging by the results it was a fruitful one. The Spartans registered 13 shutouts and yielded as many as two goals in a game just twice before running into eventual state champ Central Columbia.
“Her movement, her speed and agility, and her strength make her such a force to be reckoned with,” said Hoffman. “You can move her anywhere on the field. That goes for any sport that she plays. It’s just very hard to beat her because of her speed, her agility and her strength.
“For lack of a better word, she’s just a beast on defense. I would not want to go up against her. She’s just so strong and so fast and just reads what the other player is going to do so well she’d be very hard to beat.”
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Hurleman is so good at so many sports. That’s just the way the Hurlemans roll.
Jason played football at Central Catholic and The Hill School, and later at Ithaca College. Mom Lisa competed in field hockey and track at Reading High and played club lacrosse.
Brother Max was a three-sport standout at Wyo, earning All-State honors in football and All-Berks in basketball; he’s currently playing football at Colgate. Sister Hannah was a three-sport athlete at Wyomissing who earned All-State honors in soccer; she currently swims for Arizona State.
Younger sister Claire, headed to seventh grade at Wyo, also plays three sports.
Audrey has considered dropping a sport in order to concentrate more on lacrosse, which she hopes to play in college. She plays for the elite NXT club team out of Conshohocken; Reidinger has little doubt she’ll end up at the Division I level in college.
She enjoys a chill day or hanging out with friends as much as anyone and allows herself that privilege every once in a while — but not often. She’s just too eager to grab a stick or take a basketball down to the court to put shots up.
Her summer schedule is packed with all of the above.
A typical day will start with a morning workout with her soccer teammates, then maybe some weight training. Most days she does a four-hour shift as a lifeguard at the Wyomissing pool. In the evening she’ll head to open-gym basketball workouts or a summer league hoops game at Happy Hollow, or make the trip to Conshohocken for practice with NXT.
She grew up watching Max and Hannah play everything all the time; that inspired her to do the same.
“I watched how they continued to work hard and became the people they are today,” she said.
Max never backed off when he went one-on-one with his little sister in basketball; if anything that sharpened her resolve.
She relished her one season playing soccer with Hannah, in 2021. She said she learned the importance of team chemistry and now works to develop that with her teammates; it’s no coincidence her three teams went a combined 70-7 during the 2022-23 school year.
It helps that her high school coaches are understanding of her crammed schedule and the need to occasionally miss a practice in order to make it to another sport’s practice or tournament.
“I think it’s good for your body, and healthy for your body, to change things up and not constantly be doing the same thing over and over again,” said Hoffman, a three-sport athlete at Wyomissing who played soccer at Penn State.
Hurleman’s not about to give up any of her sports; each holds a special place in her heart, as do her teammates.
“Basketball may be my favorite sport, because it’s so fun to play,” she said. “It’s such a team sport. Everyone’s connected in every way and works for each other. That’s what I love about all three of these sports: It’s a team, and everyone builds and works off of each other and can be a player for everyone.
“(I) just want to succeed with all my teammates, just want to be part of the team, watching our team grow and develop and succeed as one whole unit.”
