Althoff honors student who won national award

Belleville News-Democrat
·1 min read

Gabby Orlet, a junior at Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville, was honored Monday night before a soccer game for winning the 2024 Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Basketball Courage Award.

Orlet is one of two students to receive the award nationwide.

“She’s a great leader and the girls all look up to her,” said Bruce Romine, the head basketball coach for Althoff’s girls basketball team.

“Dealing with what she’s dealt with since the age of 14, she’s shown great courage.”

Members of the Althoff Catholic High School soccer team wear the jersey of Gabby Orlet while warming up before a match at Althoff High School in Belleville, Ill. on March 11, 2024.
Members of the Althoff Catholic High School soccer team wear the jersey of Gabby Orlet while warming up before a match at Althoff High School in Belleville, Ill. on March 11, 2024.

Orlet and the basketball team were both awarded over-sized, $2,000 checks for the award. The girl’s soccer team, who played directly after the ceremony, wore Orlet’s jersey during warm-ups.

Althoff athletic director Kathy Wullerat poses with a check awarded during the presentation of the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Courage Award at Althoff High School in Belleville, Ill. on March 11, 2024.
Althoff athletic director Kathy Wullerat poses with a check awarded during the presentation of the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Courage Award at Althoff High School in Belleville, Ill. on March 11, 2024.

In 2021, Orlet was diagnosed with a giant cell tumor which had damaged part of her back bone. She immediately had two surgeries. In March 2022, doctors determined that the cancer had returned to the original site and had spread to inside her lungs. She undergoes chemotherapy to combat what she describes as a rare bone cancer.

Gabby Orlet’s back brace, signed by her fellow team mates and friends, at Althoff High School in Belleville, Ill. on March 11, 2024.
Gabby Orlet’s back brace, signed by her fellow team mates and friends, at Althoff High School in Belleville, Ill. on March 11, 2024.