Athlete Spotlight: Future Collegiate Pole Vaulter Alyssa Bay

Alyssa Bay is 17 and a senior at Watonga High School. She’s involved in many activities and sports, her favorite being track and field where she pole vaults. Alyssa has signed her letter of intent to continue her pole vaulting career at Tiffin University, where she’ll change from wearing Watonga Eagle red to Tiffin Dragon green. She also participated in fastpitch softball and cross country. She enjoys painting, reading, and spending quality time with her best friend Suzie and her boyfriend Tyler.

Bay started track and field in elementary school with the softball toss, and then came back to the sport her 7th grade year after being homeschooled for a year. It was then when Alyssa saw one of her older friends Abby Boeckman trying pole vaulting that she decided to also try her hand at it. And since then, the girls were competitors and close friends. “She was my person since 7th grade and now that I’m a senior it’s weird not doing it with my little partner,” Alyssa said. She quickly fell in love with track meet environments and competing in the pole vault. “It has put in place a lot of ambition and drive for something, it’s like a passion. It gave me a new thing that I could work for,” she said. Alyssa likes pole vaulting because there’s always something she can improve upon, whether she’s the best at a meet, or not having a good day, there’s always something she can focus on.

For this season Alyssa wants to come back and win state in pole vaulting. She got third last year, and she aims to be pole vaulting back at 11 feet by the time state comes around. She’s also using this year to prepare herself for collegiate competition next year. During track, “Senior” Coach Coleman, Chisholm’s track coach, has always been willing to help Alyssa out with her events. During the fall and winter months, he would always let her come and use their pole vault pit to practice.

Alyssa’s mom has been super influential in her life during sports and off the track. She’s always encouraging her to look at the positive side of things, even when things aren’t going her way. Alyssa’s mom took her to go compete in Jacksonville Florida at the National Junior Olympics. “It was a really good experience,” she said. There, she was pushed to get out of her comfort zone and go compete with people that also excel at pole vaulting. At Jacksonville is where she really got the motivation to do pole vaulting collegiately.

In college she plans to double major in forensic psychology and criminalistics, while competing at Tiffin. Alyssa is very excited for Tiffin, but she’s also nervous to be away from home in Ohio. “I feel like going 17 hours away is the best thing for me, but at the same time I have a little other side of me that’s like, dang, I really am going. There’s people here that I do love and care about,” she said.

Before track season, Alyssa underwent surgery to get some masses on her brain removed. It was minimally invasive, but not the easiest recovery. The masses were causing memory issues, and emotional problems for Alyssa. Now after the surgery, she feels better and more in-the-moment.

Bay considers herself to be full of personality, and very “introspective.” She’s very appreciative of all the people in Watonga and in her life that have helped her get to where she is today. People like the Smith family, who she was very close to at the beginning of the school year, Coach Rutherford, who’s always checking up on Alyssa, and Suzie, her true best friend. But most of all she wants to thank the community for always being so supportive of the Watonga athletes. “I’d like to thank the majority of people that have cared and made it clear that they do care about me and my future. … I wanna thank the community as a whole,” she said.

Alyssa Bay, 17

Grade- Senior

Family- Alison and Joshua (parents), Breanna, Bronx, Kayla, Lily, and Vernon (siblings)

Activities- softball, cross country, track and field, NHS, OHS, gifted and talented, FCA, band

Hobbies- painting, singing, hanging out with boyfriend Tyler and best friend Suzie