Through partnership with the NCHSAA, FloSports has designated funds to be used towards scholarship support of one male and one female outdoor track and field student-athlete at NCHSAA member schools. Each recipient will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
The 2023-24 winners of the FloSports Scholarships are Olivia Burroughs from Watauga Innovation Academy and Miles Gregory from Albemarle High School.
Olivia Burroughs is a senior at the Watauga Innovation Academy and participates with the track and cross country teams at Watauga High School. She took third place in the pole vault at the 4A Indoor Championships this winter and was her team’s top point scorer for the indoor season. She took fifth in the 4A pole vault at the 2023 outdoor championships and has reached the state championships each spring of her high school career. In addition to her pole vaulting success, she has qualified for the regionals in both the discus and shot put.
Away from the track, she is the Senior Class Secretary, Historian Officer for the Health Occupation Students of America, Senior Editor for the Yearbook, Delegate for the Key Club, Delegate and Outreach Committee Member with the Sustainability Club and a National Honor Society Delegate. As a junior, she was recognized as an AP Scholar with Honors, won first place in Extemporaneous Writing from the Regional Health Occupation Students of America and attended North Carolina Governor’s School in English.
She has also been very active in her community as a volunteer with the Pioneer Ambassadors, the Mr. WHS Fundraiser, River and Community Campus Clean Ups and with the Elayne Bishop Love Run/Walk, an event hosted by the High County Breast Cancer Foundation in honor of a former WHS teacher.
She sports a 4.0 unweighted GPA and plans to continue her education at Wofford College and major in Environmental Studies.
“In the fall, I plan to attend Wofford College, where I will pursue an environmental science degree and compete as Track and Field athlete,” Burroughs said. “I chose Wofford College because it can provide me with the education and opportunities to help me flourish personally and academically. Even though I was recruited for pole vaulting, I saw that Wofford valued me for my academic merit. After receiving my four-year degree, I hope to continue my studies and earn a law degree, eventually pursuing a career in environmental law.”
Miles Gregory is a senior at Albemarle High School and member of the football, wrestling and track and field teams. He started all four years on the football team and was three-times All-Conference. He finished runner up in the wrestling regional and also qualified for the indoor state championships in the shot put this winter. In his junior year, he was regional, conference and county champion in the shot put and finished in sixth place at the state championships.
Last year, he was a Heart of a Champion Award winner with the NCHSAA as well as Chief Junior Marshal, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and Dean’s List member at Stanly Community College. He will graduate with a 4.0 unweighted GPA as Valedictorian and on the President’s List at Stanly Community College with 44 college credit hours.
Gregory volunteers as a Special Olympics Coach, a mentor with the Big Brother Program, a CTE Ambassador and a Youth League Football Camp Coach.
He will attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and plans to study Physical Therapy or Kinesiology.
“Living with ADHD and SPD has been a challenge, but it has also made me more determined,” Gregory said. “I have learned to work hard, gain confidence, and overcome my shyness. Today, I stand at the top of my class, a testament to my perseverance. If I could speak to my eight-year-old self, I would tell him to never give up, to keep pushing, and that he will rise to every occasion.”
