Gracyn Presley is a junior at Cushing High School. She participates in softball, basketball, golf, track, and cheer. She got her start with softball after going with a friend to softball practice and deciding to try it out. Gracyn loved it and began working on being a better player; eventually making her way into being a part of big travel ball teams. Her favorite part about participating in sports is being able to make memories with some of her best friends. Her highest achievement so far was hitting two home runs during her freshman year and has also been selected for All District. Gracyn’s biggest positive impact is her mom. “She is always there for me even when I do bad. She is always uplifting and always positive,” Gracyn says. Her biggest role model is Kenzi Hansen, “because she is a beast and fights through everything. She is amazing at softball and I strive to be like her,” she says.
For fun, Gracyn likes to go to the movies, hang out with friends, and swim. Her favorite subject in school is science, because she wants to be a nurse and she enjoys learning about the body. Gracyn’s favorite teacher is Mr. Matheson, because he is really nice and positive, and enjoys talking to her about sports. In the future, she plans to attend Seminole State College to continue her softball career while beginning to work on getting a nursing degree.
What gets Gracyn through tough times are her parents and grandparents. “They’re always the shoulders that I can lean on when everything gets hard,” she says. Sports have taught Gracyn that to get what you want, you have to work hard. To her, being a great athlete means not only having talent; but also having the heart and the right attitude. Her advice to fellow athletes is to work as hard as you can.
By Ariel Casida
