By Chris Cox
Grove sophomore Abigale Wiley first tried high jump as a joke but almost instantly fell in love with it.
“I’ve been jumping since the end of eighth grade,” she says. “One of my friends did it and I kind of did it as a joke. They wouldn’t let me jump throughout the year but then I jumped once and got a higher height than my friend. After that, I only jumped in two track meets and the end of the year and did pretty well. I then went to state and ended up winning state. I kind of got into from there. It’s a lot more fun than running.”
As a sophomore, Wiley is hoping to continue her high jump success.
“I really want to clear 5’4” this year,” she says. “If I do that, hopefully that means I can make it to state and medal.”
Abigale knows reaching those goals will take work, something she is not afraid to do.
“Depending on the day, I’ll do half of the running workout they do,” Wiley says. “Then I’ll go to high jump where I’ll be jumping for about an hour. I’ll work on some four steps and then a full approach. Usually, I do quite a lot. I’m always trying to fix some things I mess up in practice before we go to our next track meet so I can do well.”
Sports can get frustrating. Whether it’s the schedule athletes have to keep or the inevitable failures, it can be tough to stay positive, but Wiley says going to church has helped her when things get hard.
“I try to stay positive,” she says. “I feel like going to church a lot has helped a lot with that. I feel like it’s taught me how to keep a better mindset and be more positive toward negative situations.”
While track fills up Abigale’s athletic schedule, she still finds time to serve others.
“I’m in Interact, which is through Rotary,” she says. “Outside of school, I volunteer at the nature center.”
Although just a sophomore, Abigale is already looking toward her life after high school.
“I’m open to anything,” she says when it comes what she wants to do. “But I’ve learned a lot about hard work and dedication at my job and I want to carry that wherever I go.”
