Mountain View grad is Person of the Year for U. of Montana sports

Colleen Driscoll, a Mountain View graduate, is named Person of the Year by the University of Montana athletics department

GoGriz.com selects Vancouver woman for her perseverance throughout her journey to Division I softball

She has suffered so much and yet she has thrived so much.

  That is the story of Colleen Driscoll, a 2015 graduate of Mountain View High School who is now shining at the University of Montana. A pitcher for Montana, she helped the softball program to a Big Sky Conference championship and a spot in the NCAA tournament last spring. More than her stellar earned run average and play, though, she was honored by the university for her perseverance, in just getting herself the opportunity to play Division I softball. There was a tragedy in the family that moved the family to create a foundation that has saved lives. Plus, Driscoll endured a back surgery that put her athletic career in jeopardy when she was in high school. Now toward the end of 2017, she is trying to come back from yet another back surgery. “Hands down, the most mentally tough, determined person I’ve ever coached, and it’s not even close,” said her former coach at Montana. It was that spirit, that passion, that led to Driscoll being named the GoGriz.com’s Person of the Year for 2017.

“It’s an honor,” Driscoll said by phone Tuesday afternoon, the day after her story was posted. “So many amazing athletes that make up Montana athletics. I’m very grateful for it.” Driscoll is a junior at Montana. She is studying exercise science in hopes of becoming a physical therapist. “I have a lot experience,” she said. The University of Montana thought enough of Driscoll’s character to write a 5,000-word story, detailing her journey, on and off the field: http://www.gogriz.com/news/2017/12/25/softball-2017-gogriz-com-person-of-the-year.aspx