ROCKINGHAM — Hailey Miller, a senior on the Richmond Senior High School girls’ golf team, has been named the Week 9 Official Richmond County Female Athlete of the Week presented by Moss Brothers Tire and Service.
Each week, one male and one female student-athlete from Richmond Senior High School will be selected by his or her coach as ROSports’ Official Richmond County Athlete of the Week based on his or her performance in helping their respective team.
The only Lady Raider golfer to qualify for the postseason, Miller notched her fourth trip to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s regionals round. She shot a season low 90 (+18) in the regular-season finale at Pinehurst No. 5 last week. Miller competed in the regionals Monday at Pinehurst No. 7 and qualified for the state tournament, and the two combined efforts helped her earn her third career recognition.
Athletic Profile
Age: 18
Birthday: Sept. 11, 2001
Year: Senior
Fall Sport: Golf
Position: No. 1 Golfer
Years on Varsity: 4 Years
Height & Weight: 5-4, 145 pounds
Experience: 7 Years
“ON TO STATES” WITH HAILEY MILLER
RSHS Academics: Miller is not only the No. 1 golfer for the Lady Raiders, but she’s also near the top of the graduating class of 2020. She’s currently ranked as the No. 3 student, and carries a 4.75 GPA. She’s enrolled in the Advanced Placement and Richmond Community College clusters at the high school and is taking several tough courses to round out her time at Richmond.
This semester, she’s taking four classes at RichmondCC, including Economics, Calculus, Art Appreciation and Ethics, all of which are online except her math class. At Richmond, Miller takes Junior Leadership Senate with Ret. Lt. Col. Jon Ring and Weight Training Honors with Coach Jessica Covington.
She added that her favorite class is Junior Leadership Senate because of “all the people in there and that Col. Ring is a really cool dude.” She said she’s also enjoyed doing all the planning planning for this week’s homecoming festivities.
An active member of several clubs at school, Miller serves as the Senate’s second vice president. Miller is also a general member of the National Beta Club and National Honor Society, and was a junior marshal last spring.
“Senior year has been stressful but I’m trying the most out of every moment,” Miller smiled. “The best part has been enjoying and spending time with my friends.”
Future Plans: The college application process is in full swing for Miller, who has already applied to UNC Chapel Hill, UNC-Wilmington and the University of South Carolina. This week she plans on applying the Campbell University and East Carolina University.
“I’ll be starting my tours pretty soon, so I’m excited to see what each of the schools offer,” Miller explained. “Right now I really like ECU because it offers the program I want to major in, and I know people who go there and they say it’s a lot of fun.”
Miller plans on majoring in biology, but she’s not sure what she wants to pursue as a career yet. The medical field piques her interest, but she said she has some time to figure out her exact plans.
Athlete of the Week Stats: Playing on a big stage is nothing new to Miller, who has been to the regional tournament all four years of her high school career. In order to get there, she shot a season low 90 (+18) during last week’s regular-season finale at Pinehurst No. 5. She finished as the No. 1 Lady Raider golfer in all seven regular season matches.
Competing in the NCHSAA 4A regionals at Pinehurst No. 7 on Monday, Miller notched seven pars on the score sheet and overcame a couple of tough holes to finish with a 94 (+22). That mark was nine strokes below the cutline (103) to make it back to the NCHSAA state tournament for the third consecutive season. Last fall, Miller made headlines when she drained her first career ace in the state tournament.
Coach’s Corner: Second-year head coach Keith Parsons has spent the last two seasons watching Miller get better at her game and compete in some tough tournaments. Not only has she served as the Lady Raiders’ No. 1 golfer, but Parson noted her role as the team’s most effective leader.
“Hailey could be athlete of the week every week,” Parsons said. “What she’s done for our golf team, what she’s done for her teammates and what she means to our school, she’s a wonderful example in every way. She’s one of the best there is in what she does, and I’m happy to see her pick things back up at the end of her senior season.
“Hailey will give rides to practice, and she was quick to welcome in new members of the team this year,” he added. “She shows everyone a thing or two and is good at giving advice. She started off not playing the way she wanted, but now she’s going back to the state tournament after playing well on a really tough course. I’m really happy for her.
Raider Video Chats: Hailey Miller, Official Richmond County Female Athlete of the Week
New this season is our “Raider Video Chats” segment that allows student-athletes to connect with fans and readers through video interviews. In her video, Miller discusses her fourth regional appearance, her involvement in other school activities and and answers questions in our “Rapid Raider Response” segment.
Click photo for video.
