ROCKINGHAM - Hailey Miller, a junior on the Richmond Senior High School golf team, has been named the third Official Richmond County Female Athlete of the Week for the 2018 fall sports season.
Miller is currently wrapping up her third season of play on the Lady Raider golf team, and has proven to be Richmond’s most consistent scorer in the team’s five matches this season. First-year head coach Keith Parsons selected Miller for her stellar No. 1 play, and this marks her second career selection (Miller was also named AOW on Oct. 4, 2017, as a sophomore).
Athletic Profile
Age: 17
Birthday: Sept. 11, 2001
Year: Junior
Fall Sport: Golf
Position: No. 1 Seed
Years on Varsity: 3 Years
Height & Weight: 5-3, 145 pounds
Experience: 6 Years (began playing golf in sixth grade)
TEEING OFF WITH HAILEY MILLER
RSHS Academics: Not only is Miller successful on the golf course, but she takes her rigorous academic schedule seriously, too. As a first-semester junior, Miller is enrolled in four Richmond Community College courses this fall, and is taking two Advanced Placement courses and weight training at Richmond Senior High School.
More so, Miller is one of three Lady Raider student-athletes who is tied for the No. 1 spot in the graduating class of 2020. Currently, Miller, along with fellow juniors Jadyn Johnson and Madison Jordyn, has a 4.625 GPA, and will make her a junior marshal at this year’s graduation.
Classes she’s taking right now at RichmondCC are English 111, History 131, Math 171 and Spanish 111. At the high school, she’s also staying on par in AP Language and Composition and AP Psychology, wrapping things up with fourth block weight training with Shellie Wimpey.
“AP Psych is pretty cool, and we just started doing projects in that class,” Miller commented on Ms. Kelly Russell’s class. “Layne Maultsby and I had to do a celebrity brain partner project, and we chose Michael Scott from ‘The Office.’ We got to see what makes up his character and how his brain works, which was really interesting.
“Taking so many RCC and AP courses is a great way to get college classes out of the way and prepare me for the future,” she added. “Plus I like not having to be in school all day.”
Around campus, Miller is a member of the National Beta Club, an organization she’s been in since being inducted in ninth grade. She’s helped with numerous service projects, including Dannell Ellerbe’s football camp and Richmond County Schools’ “Stuff the Bus” campaign. Miller also shared that she expects to be inducted into the National Honor Society this year.
RSHS Sports: While golf is her No. 1 sport and her true passion, Miller has also been involved with the Lady Raider basketball program since her freshman year. She played on the junior varsity team as a ninth grader, before getting bumped up to varsity as a shooting guard during her sophomore season.
She intends to pick things up with basketball following the end of golf season, and said she’s looking forward to rejoining her teammates under first-year head coach Teddy Moseley this winter.
College Aspirations: There is still plenty of time for Miller to decide where she would like to further her education, but that doesn’t mean she can’t start thinking about it.
“I’m going to try to go to school and play golf,” she explained. “But if that doesn’t work out, I’m thinking Campbell University. I definitely don’t want to go to UNCW because of the hurricane (noting her sister, Madison, attends the school).”
“Layne and I have been talking about Georgia, too,” Miller continued. “I’d like to do something in the medical field, like be an orthopedic surgeon or physician’s assistant. I’m leaning towards the medical field because it’s one of my interests because I like science and math. And I used to break a lot of bones when I was younger, so that’s why it interests me.”
Hailey Miller taking a chip shot during a match earlier this season.
Athlete of the Week Stats: The Lady Raider golf team wrapped up its regular season play Monday day at Pinehurst Resort No. 5, and it was the first of two matches in as many days for Miller. The rare two-round week comes as a result of a rollercoaster ride of a season that saw nearly every match affected by some sort of weather.
To open the season, heat, a thunderstorm and Hurricane Florence disrupted the flow of the schedule, and Monday’s round served as a chance for Miller to punch her return ticket back to the regional playoffs. The NCHSAA requires golfers to average a nine-hole score of 50 or better in order to make postseason play, and Miller did that easily.
The inconsistent schedule this fall didn’t affect Miller Monday, as she remained consistent in her scoring, shooting an 85 through 18 holes at Pinehurst No. 5, before her practice round score of 82 Tuesday. Miller has helped lead Richmond to third-place finishes in every team match this season, and has posted the top Lady Raider score each time, averaging a score of 41.8 per nine holes of golf. Her best nine-hole score was a 40 in the season opener at Bayonet Golf Course in Raeford on Sept. 4.
RAPID FIRE – FAST RESPONSES
1) If you could play any golf course on earth, with any pro golfers, which one and who would it be and why?
“That’s a tough one,” Miller expressed. “But I’d probably choose Pinehurst No. 2 and play with Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. It’s amazing to see how the fans follow them and are really supportive. I think playing with them would make me want to play better, and I admire how Tiger has overcome a lot and is still really good.”
2) If you could name your proudest accomplishment in life, what would it be?
“Earlier this season, I was dared to wear a nun’s outfit on the golf course,” Miller laughed. “It was when we played at Scotch Meadows last week.”
3) Who in your life is your biggest role model or support system?
“My dad, Dwayne Miller, because he comes to all my matches and encourages me on every hole even when I’m not doing well,” Miller noted. “And he works with me after my matches -- he’s like my coach.”
4) Describe what it’s like to be a leader on the golf team. What’s the responsibility like being the No. 1 golfer?
“Being the No. 1 golfer and a leader makes me try to do my best and stay focused to improve my scores, which have improved a lot since last year,” Miller said. “Monday is when regionals start, and I want to shoot in the low 80s or break into the 70s.”
5) Name one interesting fact that most people don’t know about you.
“My face gets red when I get embarrassed or hot,” Miller smiled. “It’s the only interesting fact I can think of.”
Coach’s Corner: Parsons has guided Miller and the Lady Raider golf team through a wild schedule this fall, his first as the program’s head coach, and has taken notice of Miller’s consistency and exceptional ability to be a leader on the course.
“Hailey has been consistent all season, and even as the player with the best scoring average on our team, she is at every practice and wants to get the most out of it,” Parsons, a social studies teacher at RSHS said. “The rest of the team, particularly our three ninth graders, see that and follow in her example.
“Hailey doesn’t let golf or anything else get in the way of her studies,” he added. “She’s in the Beta Club and carries that membership with pride, as she should. Again, that’s just a great example for her teammates.”
