Front row, from left, Starr Mays (mother), Alyssa Nays, and Jamie Mays (father): Back row, from left, Kelly Boerger, NAHS Cross-Country Coach and Casie Reed, NAHS Cross-Country/Track Coach. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
Another standout student/athlete from Adams County has made the decision to continue her academic and athletic career at the next level. In a ceremony held on Friday, May 7 in the North Adams High School gymnasium, NAHS senior Alyssa Mays, before proud family members and coaches, signed her letter of intent to become a member of the cross-country and track squads at Marietta College.
“I discovered Marietta College by attending the HOBY Youth Leadership event,” said Mays at the ceremony. “I fell in love with the campus and the community and after that I had my heart set on it and I really worked hard this year to be able to join their teams. I haven’t been able to meet the teams yet because of their COVID restrictions.”
“I had several people who were very influential during my time at North Adams. Karl and Kelly Boerger, Casie Reed, and several others who helped me get to this point. When I was young, Ms. Gravel was great at pushing me to improve. My parents and family have definitely pushed me to get here.”
“What I’ll remember most about my time at North Adams is when we went to Ripley and won our first cross-country meet as a team,” Mays continued. “That will always be a good memory.”
“Alyssa is an amazing young lady,” said NAHS Girls Cross-Country Coach Kelly Boerger. “She started running in seventh grade, then stopped for a couple of years to focus on soccer, then realized how much she missed running and came back and it was perfect. She came back at just the right time to have a great senior year, splitting time between cross-country and soccer. She took nearly two minutes off her time from the beginning of the season to the end and overcame a lot of obstacles. I couldn’t be more excited for her and for what her future holds.”
Already with a bundle of post-secondary credits under her belt, Mays plans to study Biology at Marietta and then move on to medical school, with the ultimate goal of becoming an Opthalmologist.
The Marietta College Pioneers are an NCAA Division III school and a member of the Ohio Athletic Conference.
