KU Scholar Athlete of the Month: Autumn Herriford
For Autumn, It’s All Fun and Games
School: Dunbar High
GRADE: 12 Sport: Basketball
Academics: Autumn is a straight-A student with a 4.71 weighted GPA. She scored 31 on the ACT, has taken six A.P. classes and is a National Honor Society member.
Parents: Kelly & Greg
In fact, “court” is too limiting. Nobody in the gym has more fun.Nobody on the court has more fun during a basketball game than Dunbar High senior Autumn Herriford.
During games, Autumn, a 5-foot-11 guard/forward, will talk with officials and even fans. And these are pleasant, relaxed chats that Autumn squeezes in while taking the ball out of bounds or bumping into a ref on the floor.
“She’s a character,” her father, Greg, said. “She’s a free spirit, laughing during the game. One of the refs so enjoyed her she volunteered to be a reference for her for college.”
Added Coach Nick Runyon: “Autumn’s personality is one of a kind. She is a free flowing spirit with a sense of humor that is unmatched among her peers.”
Autumn, 17, smiles and shrugs when she hears these comments. “I guess I’m pretty laid-back,” she said.
Which is interesting because she’s also very driven.
In the classroom, she is a straight A student… since forever. She has never recorded a lower grade.
Her weighted GPA is 4.71, she scored 31 on the ACT and has taken six A.P. classes.
She’s a member of the National Honor Society, the National French Honor Society and earned the Booker T. Washington Mentor Award for her work with elementary students.
Active in her church, she has been a camp counselor and joins her youth group on the third Sunday of every month to feed the homeless.
The group prepares and dishes out the food in downtown Lexington.
Plus, she works up to 30 hours a week (except during basketball season) at Chick-fil-A.
“She is independent, self-motivated and has excellent time management skills,” her mother, Kelly, said.
And dedicated to basketball. A multi-talented player, Autumn finished her high school career with more than 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
She was selected to the All Region and All Region Tournament team this year and was second team All City last year.
As a junior, she led Dunbar in rebounds and was named the top defender. As a sophomore, she led the team in assists.
Her only flaw as a player? She doesn’t shoot enough.
“I’ve never before had to beg a player more to shoot,” Runyon said.
In the fall, she’ll take her pass-first mentality to Asbury, an NAIA school.
“We share the same core values,” she said. “Be a good student, athlete and a follower of Christ.
“The spiritual aspect of the school is huge for me.”