JEFF FIELDER Editor
MORRILL – Alyssa Shaw, a senior at Morrill High School, is this week’s Nspire Today! Female Athlete of the Week, sponsored by Kristy Culek Agency, LLC-American Family Insurance. She competes in cross country, wrestling, and track and field. She also participated in FBLA, National Honor Society, choir, show choir, Future Problem Solvers, and FFA. Her GPA is 3.806. Shaw attended Morrill High School her senior year, and before that she attended schools in Mitchell and Hyannis. She attended Hyannis High School her freshman, sophomore and part of her junior year. She plans to go to school at York College to study psychology and also to compete on the cross country and track and field teams. Her parents are Bobby and April Shaw; and Christie Barthel and Ray Dykes. For being named an Athlete of the Week, Shaw will receive a gift card for a free drink to Scooter’s Coffee.
Q: Talk about how excited you are to continue your cross country and track and field career in college.
SHAW: “It is really exciting for me because I never thought I would be able to run in college. This is an amazing opportunity for me because I really love to run. It helps me when I’m stressed, and it connects me to a lot of people. And I love the family atmosphere you get in those sports. I’m so excited for it.”
Q: Which events do you compete in during the track and field season?
SHAW: “I’ve tried almost everything, but I’ve specialized in both sets of hurdles, long distance, and relays.”
Q: Will you be doing all of those events in college?
SHAW: “My coach at York is really excited for me to do hurdles because he doesn’t have a lot of hurdlers. I’m also excited to be part of the relays.”
Q: How did your cross country season go last fall?
SHAW: “I got to run at three meets, but I could only run JV because of the 90-day school switch rule. But it was still really fun. I’m excited to try it again in college.”
Q: How did your high school track and field career go overall?
SHAW: “At Hyannis, I qualified for state my freshman and sophomore years in the mile and two-mile, and we were close in the relays. I almost made it to state again my junior year. I improved my hurdles times last year, so I was really excited for this season. Overall, my high school track career went really well. It was a really good learning experience.”
Q: Is track and field your favorite sport?
SHAW: “Yes, it is because I can’t wrestle anymore.”
Q: How many years did you wrestle?
SHAW: “I started when I was little, and I wrestled until this January, when I got another concussion during practice. I hit the mat pretty hard, so after that, my parents and I decided that it was better to be safe than sorry, so I stopped contact sports. I had been planning to go to college to wrestle because I had a couple scholarship offers, but I had a few too many concussions to do that in college.”
Q: How many concussions have you had in your career?
SHAW: “Four – in the past four or five years. I had one every year of high school.”
Q: Describe how your wrestling career went overall.
SHAW: “I had a lot of fun wrestling. It taught me a lot of great things, like teamwork and working hard. It’s probably one of the reasons I’ve been successful in track – because wrestlers condition hard, and I think they’re one of the hardest-working teams in school. I feel like I became a better team player because of it, and I became a better athlete. I made state my sophomore year (at 106) for boys state wrestling, and that was really, really cool. I would have competed at girls state wrestling this year if I wouldn’t have gotten my concussion. Overall, I had an amazing time in wrestling.”
Q: How much improvement do you think you can make in track in college?
SHAW: “I think I can improve a lot. I’ll have more time to work on it. I’m excited to see how much I improve in the next four years.”
Q: Why did you pick York College?
SHAW: “My sophomore year when I went down to the state tournament for wrestling, they talked to my coach about recruiting me for wrestling. So that’s when they first popped onto my radar. I started thinking about going on a college visit my senior year, and after my concussion, I explored their track team. Their coach emailed me and talked to me a little bit, and I thought the opportunity was too good to pass up. When I got to their campus, I stayed with one of the [female track athletes] in the dorm, and she really helped me make up my mind. She talked about how the team was like a family, and she said the coach was really amazing. It sounded awesome.”
Q: Why do you want to pursue psychology?
SHAW: “I really like learning about people and how they act, what they like to do, how your brain affects everything around you, and also how people respond to situations.”
Q: What was your favorite non-sports activity at school?
SHAW: “Probably show choir. I only got to do it part of my junior year in Mitchell and also in Morrill, but I really, really loved it because it was so fun. Our teacher was really outgoing and smart and creative.”
Q: Outside of school, what do you enjoy doing for fun?
SHAW: “I enjoy reading, listening to music, hanging out with my family, and working with my dad at his mechanic shop.”
Q: What kind of music do you like to listen to?
SHAW: “I’ll listen to pretty much anything.”
Q: How much have you enjoyed living in the Mitchell/Morrill area?
SHAW: “I’ve really enjoyed it. I like living near a bigger city – Scottsbluff. It’s nice being able to drive over to Scottsbluff and eat somewhere there with my friends or hang out in town or go cruising. It’s a lot of fun. There’s a lot of people who have accepted me here. I’ve made a lot of friends. It’s a really welcoming community.”
Q: Who do you think is one of the kindest students at Morrill High School?
SHAW: “Probably Michell Runyan. She’s really, really awesome. She’s super nice. I’d also say Madyson Lees. She’s really awesome, too. She’s super smart. She’s a really fun person to be around, too.”
Q: What is one thing you wish people would do more of?
SHAW: “Smile and show kindness and not gossip.”
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in this area?
SHAW: “I really like Asian Buffet and Shari’s. I love Shari’s. I’ve been going there since I was really little. We would make special trips to Scottsbluff to shop and go to Shari’s.”
Q: Name one person who you think is a big difference-maker in the Morrill community.
SHAW: “I would say Mrs. [Alexa] Winkler. She’s absolutely amazing. I can’t express how grateful I am for her help. She’s a really great person, and she wants to be involved in the community. She’s just an amazing person all-around.”
Q: Do you have any siblings?
SHAW: “Yes, I have three step brothers, two sisters, and a half sister.”
If you would like to nominate someone for Nspire Today!’s Athletes of the Week, sponsored by Kristy Culek Agency, you may do so by sending an email to jeff.fielder@nspiretoday.com or by mailing a letter to Nspire Today!, P.O. Box 454, Scottsbluff, NE 69363. Nominations may also be submitted by sending a text to 308-220-8865.
In addition to being recognized online, athletes of the week will also be recognized in Nspire Today! magazine. To sign up for a one-year subscription (12 issues) to the magazine, please send $15 to Nspire Today!, P.O. Box 454, Scottsbluff, NE 69363. To pay with a credit card, please call 308-220-8865.
For all your insurance needs, visit The Kristy Culek Agency, LLC-American Family Insurance, located at 1012 Ave. I in Scottsbluff, or call 308-632-8598.
