True Grit: Maddie Rises to All Challenges
True Grit: Maddie Rises to All Challenges
School: Tates Creek High
GRADE: 12 SportS: Soccer, cross-country, track
Academics: Maddie has a 5.2 weighted GPA, scored 34 on the ACT and is a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist.
Parents: Meredith & Cary
Maddie Covey of Tates Creek High might be one of history’s smallest All-City soccer players, but there’s plenty of grit packed onto her 5-foot-2 1/2 inch, 106-pound frame.
Her tenacity is easy to overlook because she disguises it with an engaging, offhand manner.
But only a fool would underestimate this 17-year-old straight-A student and three-sport athlete.
Maddie has a 5.2 weighted GPA in the school’s demanding International Baccalaureate program.
She scored 34 on the ACT, is a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist, was the junior class president and spent five weeks this summer in the Governor Scholars Program.
“That was such a wonderful experience,” she said. “What had the most profound impact on me was the intimate sense of community. We were a diverse group of students, and everybody was equal, even the teachers.
“It was such an enriching place to be. My desire to learn really skyrocketed.”
That’s saying something for a student of her caliber who readily admits that she sometimes dreads long-term projects and major tests.
But she always rises to the challenge.
“I’m very goal-oriented,” she said. “When it’s time to do something for school, I’m willing to stay up as late as I have to to get it done,” she said.
Maddie also has her own non-profit, dedicated to raising money to fight pediatric cancer. She organized an Adopt a Spot fund-raiser at a school parking lot that raised $500.
In addition to that busy schedule, Maddie is a starter on the soccer team, and runs cross-country in the fall and track in the spring.
Last year, the All-City defender led the team in assists and was named second team All-Region.
As a defender, she often squared off with opponents 50 pounds heavier than her, but her quick feet and savvy field sense neutralized them all.
Maddie also plays on the Lexington FC’s top team for her age group – a club that placed second in a national tournament in Florida two years ago.
Despite suffering four stress fractures in two years, Maddie placed fourth in the Region in cross-country as a freshman, the same year she was the City and Region champ in the 3,200.
She also runs on the 4×800 relay that set a City record last season and has qualified for the State three times.
Last spring when a friend asked Maddie to run a half-marathon, she jumped right in – with no training or preparation.
Did she complete the race? Are you kidding? Maddie is nothing if not a finisher.
Let us know about a deserving Scholar Athlete with this form:
Let us know about a deserving Scholar Athlete with this form: