For your average homecoming queen, the night she gets crowned on the football field in front of the whole school is one of the most rewarding and unforgettable experiences of her life.
But Winchester’s Aubrey Weigand is not your average homecoming queen. In fact, getting crowned wasn’t even her most memorable accomplishment of the night.
As a freshman, Weigand became the first-ever female kicker for the Falcons and tied a school record with 10 extra points made in a single game. Three years later, in her senior season, she broke her own record by going 11-for-11 on PATs in Winchester’s 77-8 victory over Union County on Sep. 20. On top of the record-breaking performance, Weigand was crowned homecoming queen at halftime.
“It was just a crazy night. We scored six touchdowns in the first quarter, and at that point I was thinking, ‘Well, maybe we are going to get the record tonight,'” Weigand said. “And then for homecoming queen, that was unexpected. Me and Juan [Castillo-Flores, a senior defensive lineman for Winchester and homecoming king], whenever we got down to the locker room, all the guys were screaming. I don’t think that locker room has ever gotten that loud before. It was really, really cool.”
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Despite never playing or even watching football before her freshman season, Weigand has developed the team-first mentality that characterizes truly great football players.
“I remember freshman year when we tied it, that was before the running clock rule was a thing, so I never thought that we could even get that close again. But the guys did it, and I’m really proud of them for that,” Weigand said. “Kicking, you just think of me for that, but in reality it’s an 11-man job. Without Caleb Hummel, our long snapper, and Nate Winkle, our holder, that wouldn’t be a thing.”
Weigand is a soccer player at heart. She plays for Indiana Impact in Pendleton and plans to continue her soccer career in college. Winchester, though, does not offer soccer, so Weigand decided to get involved with Falcons athletics by making history as their first female football player. Her father, Joel, credits her experience as a football player with strengthening her resolve.
“When people watch her play football now, they see her being used to this. They see her going out there and kicking field goals because that’s her job,” Joel said. “But she has not always been that confident of an individual. In elementary, there would be days she would come home crying because she was nervous or anxious. I think one thing football has definitely done has helped her with mental toughness.”
That anxious, crying kid is long gone, replaced a by a confident, cool-headed young woman. Naturally, there are some who have concerns about a girl playing a sport dominated by boys, especially the physical sport of football, but the boys of the Winchester football team have welcomed Weigand into the fold ever since her first season.
“I’ve had parents come up to me and go, ‘Oh gosh, your daughter is on a team full of guys, that has to be stressful,'” Joel said. “Those guys are so good to her, it’s like having a ton of brothers. I see the way they interact with her in the hallway, on the field, and when the record was broken, they were just as excited as if it had been one of the guys.”
“Freshman year, it was super awkward for me because I was friends with all of those guys in school, but football is completely different,” Aubrey said. “Throughout the years, we’ve all just become friends. It’s not a normal thing, but it’s normal to us.”
When she first tried out for the football team, it wasn’t to break the mold or become a trailblazer for girls who want to play football. Weigand earned her spot as the team’s kicker through hard work and dedication to her craft. Her level of commitment has made her an inspiring figure for the young girls of the Winchester community.
“The other thing that’s so rewarding for us is, there were four or five middle school and elementary age girls that were wearing 85 Weigand jerseys,” Joel said. “That’s pretty cool to see the way these girls look at her. She’s never set out to be ‘girl power, woman power, I’m doing this because I’m a girl.’ She tried out for the team, she made the team, and she was not handed anything.”
Winchester’s record-breaking kicker has come a long way in four years. She went from sending her first practice kick into the back of a lineman’s helmet to breaking school records and inspiring her community, culminating in her homecoming coronation.
By now, Aubrey Weigand has transcended the label of “Winchester’s female kicker.” She is a truly great football player.
Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@muncie.gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Winchester football: homecoming queen breaks school kicking record
