[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 116 (Wednesday, June 24, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E563-E564]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING MS. BAILEY DOWLING

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 24, 2020

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Ms. Bailey 
Dowling of St. Joseph-Ogden High School, who was named the 2019-20 
Gatorade Illinois Softball Player of the Year.
  The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, 
but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character 
demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Bailey as Illinois's 
best high school softball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious 
Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year award to be announced in 
June, Bailey joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners 
in 12 sports.
  Ms. Dowling, who won the prestigious award in 2018-19, was one of 
only two high-school athletes on the 2019 USA Softball Junior Women's 
National Team that won the U19 World Championships last August. In 
addition

[[Page E564]]

to her superior achievements on the field, Bailey is an incredibly hard 
worker off the field, volunteering locally as a youth mentor and 
softball coach while simultaneously maintaining a 3.33 GPA in her high 
school classroom. Bailey has signed a national letter of intent to play 
softball on scholarship at the University of Alabama this fall.
  Madam Speaker, I congratulate Bailey on her achievement and wish her 
continued success in both her athletic and academic careers.

                          ____________________