Student-Athlete Of The Month: Lily Hayes

A three-sport athlete and excellent student is headed to college on a lacrosse scholarship.

Severna Park resident Lily Hayes recently graduated from the Annapolis-based St. Mary’s High School, where she played three sports and graduated with a 3.8 GPA, earning a spot on the school’s honor roll and National Honor Society chapter. She was a defender on the lacrosse and field hockey teams, and she was a relay specialist for the indoor track and field team.

Juggling excellence in academics with excellence in three sports was a challenge Hayes knew she had to master early on if she was to be successful.

“My classes and practices were always 5:30 to 7:00(pm), so on the later side. It was getting my schoolwork done kind of early, realizing that I wasn’t like most students,” Hayes said. “I had to get ahead of things most times and really had to take time out. I wasn’t going to want to go home and do homework (after practice), so I had to work ahead.”

As she heads off to Cincinnati to play and study at Xavier University, Hayes believes finding that balance in high school will serve her well in the years to come.

“It’s stressful switching from high school to college, making all new friends and that,” she said. “You have to be connecting with people who aren’t on your team, connecting with your professors to let them know you’re a student-athlete. The classes are the priority, but you also have a sport. I think it’s going to be your professors don’t remind you about due dates and stuff as your high school teachers do. You’re responsible for your academics and being on top of everything.”

Hayes chose to join the Musketeers because of a connection between her club coach and the coach at Xavier, as well as the appeal of building something that will last — a sentiment that matches her drive at St. Mary’s.

“I really tried to encourage younger athletes to try new sports or come out for more than one sport,” she said. “It’s just fun to be part of a team and keep your fitness up. Getting people involved in sports is really important to me.”

Xavier’s inaugural lacrosse season was last year, so when Hayes committed, they didn’t have a team yet.

“Having the idea of being one of the first people on the team and building that team dynamic was amazing,” Hayes said.

Though high school is now not far in her rearview mirror, Hayes credited her time in athletics at St. Mary’s with some of her most favorite memories at the school.

“A big one was winning the track championship for the second year in a row,” Hayes said. “I ran the last event (the 4x400 relay), so after that event, when we had secured our win, it was the best feeling ever. Beating our rivals, Severn, at home for lacrosse was also really big, and then when the boys team beat Severn too, it was amazing. Supporting other teams is always so much fun.”

The Voice’s Student-Athlete of the Month is proudly sponsored by Matt Wyble of Next Step Realty. Contact Zach Sparks at zach@severnaparkvoice.com to nominate a local student making a positive impact through sports.