GAMES
RANKINGS
TWCA's Arden Allison
FORGING OWN PATH: Allison bringing unique perspective to TWCA
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Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
VYPE: How did you get into both sports? They are so different.
ALLISON: “My Mom and I started running little 5K fund-raisers when I was like seven-years-old. When I got to TWCA, I just started running competitively. I fight with myself during every race. It’s a constant battle of not burning out... speeding up and slowing down. My Dad played baseball and got me into the sport early. I love to have the ball in my hand on the mound.”
VYPE: How does cross country help you in baseball?
ALLISON: "Obviously, it keeps me in shape, but the running motion with my arms really helps my shoulders stay healthy."
VYPE: What do you like to do outside of sports?
ALLISON: “I have been involved in Boy Scouts and the Venture Crew all my life. I love camping and I’m also on a team that competes in the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP). I’ve gotten pretty good. It’s a competition where we shoot at steel targets while being timed."
VYPE: What is your plan for the future after TWCA?
ALLISON: “I want to play baseball at LeTourneau University. I really like the school. I love working with my hands and want to get into something like being a mechanic. I love to build and fix things.”
VYPE: What is your favorite movie?
ALLISON: “I really like the Mission Impossible movies.”
VYPE: You came to TWCA as a sophomore and as a home-schooler. How was the transition?
ALLISON: “It’s been great. The academics are much tougher, but the best part is the social aspect. Just meeting and hanging out with people has been the greatest part of the move. I’ve learned so much from my coaches, teachers and new friends. It’s been so much more fun and I’ve grown so much.”
VYPE: What has been your childhood dream?
ALLISON: “I’ve always wanted to fly planes.”
TWCA's Flo Shirley
SHE HAS THAT FLO: Shirley going out as heartbeat of TWCA Cross Country
“I really got into the sport because of my sister (Fern),” she laughed. “She quit dance and needed something to do and started cross country. We are really competitive between each other. Whatever she’s doing, I have to do better.”
Entering her senior season, Flo is looking to go out with a bang.
“I’m trying to set a personal record for myself and finish in the Top 10 at districts,” she said. “The State Meet is a tough course, and the conditions were pretty bad last year, so I’m just looking for a much better time this year.”
Outside of the sport and team she loves, Shirley is much more that running.
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
“If I could meet anyone dead or alive?” she was asked. “Probably Abby Lee Miller of Dance Moms. I watch that show every night. I love it. Maybe Sabrina Carpenter too. I love her music."
Her sister Fern goes to the University of Tennessee, so that could be her future destination.
“I like the Vols but could also end up somewhere like Oklahoma,” she said. “I want to go to nursing school in the future after interning at a doctor’s office this summer. I fell in love with the medical field and know I want to go that way. I think running will always be in my life, however, maybe I’ll run intramurals in college.”
As her high school chapter begins the close, Shirley hopes to have left her mark at TWCA.
“I’ve been here forever, and it feels like home,” she said of her school. “It’s a family and I know I’ll come back and visit when I’m in college. I love this place.
“I hope I’ve set a good example here... always pushing when things get hard and being a good leader. Cross country is a team sport and I know our team has always pulled for each other. We put in so much work when no one is watching. That is the legacy I hope to have left here.”
Mission accomplished.