Miami Trace High School senior Victoria Fliehman has set a course for the next four years of her life.
Fliehman made the announcement late last week that she will continue her education and her basketball career at Cedarville University.
Fliehman has been a key part of Miami Trace’s basketball team for the past two seasons, including the team’s run to the State Final Four back in March of this year.
She was joined by family, friends and teammates for a ceremony in the library for the special occasion.
“For a long time, when I was little, I always thought I wanted to play basketball in college,” Fliehman said. “But then, after a while, I wasn’t sure. I just wanted to make sure, if I was going to play basketball, it was going to be a school I really wanted to play at. I wanted to really love being there.
“I didn’t just look at schools for basketball,” Fliehman said. “I looked at schools for academics. Then, when Cedarville started recruiting me, I took some visits. I talked with the coaches and I talked to some of the players and I really fell in love with the school and the campus and the team and the family atmosphere that they have.
“I couldn’t see myself going anywhere else,” Fliehman said. “I knew I wanted to stay kind of close here, with my brother and sister still in school and all my family is here. I couldn’t see myself going too far away.”
Fliehman’s sister, Olivia, a freshman, has made the varsity team this year, allowing the siblings to be teammates for one year.
“I’m really excited to have the opportunity to play with her,” Fliehman said. “Growing up, it was always like, ‘when I’m a senior, you’ll be a freshman and we can go to practices together and games and just spend a lot of time together.’ We’ve always practiced together, out in the barn shooting. Now we actually get to be on the same team and that’s really special.”
Fliehman is planning on majoring in biology in college.
“Hopefully, I’ll be able to go on to become a dermatologist,” Fliehman said.
“First and foremost, I need to thank my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,” Fliehman said. “For allowing me to follow the path to Him. With Cedarville being a Christian University, I just feel like it’s a perfect fit and it will definitely help strengthen my relationship there.
“I want to thank my parents,” Fliehman said. “My family, my siblings. They’ve been with me through it all; through all our school games, all the practices, AAU all summer, going to Kentucky, down to the Carolinas, Florida, wherever the tournaments took us. They were always there supporting me. All my coaches; Ben Ackley for helping us get to the Final Four last year. All the amazing relationships I’ve built through basketball.”
In the classroom at Miami Trace, Fliehman said one of her favorite classes was English with Mrs. (Sherri) West.
What about the transition from high school basketball to playing at the college level?
“It’s another big step from high school to college sports,” Fliehman said. “With just the time commitment and all of that. Cedarville has a good balance and they have their priorities straight, being a Christian university.
“I’m really excited for it,” Fliehman said. “It’ll be new, but I think it’ll really be good for me just to figure out how to do all that and balance my time.”
“Vic is a lot like Tanner (Bryant),” Miami Trace head coach Ben Ackley said. “We don’t go to the Final Four without her. She’s extremely intelligent; best basketball I.Q. of any player I’ve ever coached.
“She works very hard,” Ackley said. “She’s a great shooter. I think she will be an excellent fit for what Cedarville does. I think she has a chance to play there right away and be very successful.
“She’s an extremely good leader,” Ackley said. “Vic and Tanner are both very well liked. They lead and they lead the right way. Their legacy to our program is felt as much off the floor as it is on the floor. Their parents are great and have guided them in the right direction.
“They volunteer,” Ackley said. “They work with our youth; they do everything we ask of them and they have for their career at Miami Trace. They are great ambassadors and great role models for our younger kids to look up to.”
