Amazing grace: Wall, Walston make it look easy as top student-athletes
By Paul Durham paul@wilsontimes.com | 265-7808
Even with a deep well of talented, accomplished, hard-working nominees, seniors Kaelyn Wall of Greenfield School and Graham Walston of North Johnston stand out as the respective 2019-20 Farris & Thomas Law Attorneys Female and Male Student-Athletes of the Year as presented by The Wilson Times.
Both teenagers exemplified the notion of multi-sport athlete while demonstrating excellence in academics and citizenship in the community, along with a host of other activities in which each is involved.
In the five-year history of the award sponsored by Farris & Thomas, Wall is the first Greenfield student-athlete to be honored. Walston joins fellow Panther Barrett Davis, the 2018 Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
“It’s amazing just getting it, honestly!” said Wall during at interview at her home Tuesday.
Her father, Bruce — also the girls basketball coach at Greenfield — broke the news to her earlier in the week.
Walston, caught by surprise when the plaque was presented to him outside his home Wednesday, echoed Wall’s reaction, saying: “It’s amazing. I was actually surprised just first off when I got it. I didn’t expect to get it at all but it’s just an amazing honor.”
AMAZING FEATS
“Amazing” would be an apt description for the senior years — abbreviated as it were by the COVID-19 pandemic — of the two. Wall was the Lady Knights’ go-to player on the volleyball court, the basketball court and the soccer field. She capped her hoops career by earning her first North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A All-State plaudit, to go with the ones she picked up for volleyball and soccer as a junior.
Wall was All-Coastal Plain Independents Conference in volleyball and basketball and, with two goals and two assists in four soccer matches this spring, was on track to complete the elite trifecta along with making the playoffs in all three sports.
Wall repeated as a Wilson Times All-Area selection in basketball, arguably her best sport, even though she loves volleyball.
She had never played until seventh grade, when she was a student at Community Christian School and Bruce Wall was coaching volleyball and basketball there.
“I had never played volleyball before the seventh grade and I had anticipated to play tennis for school,” she said, “but my dad ended up being the volleyball coach. And since I’ve just loved him being my coach so much, I started to play for him, and I just fell in love with it.”
Meanwhile, Walston juggled sports with aplomb, being part of no less than five teams — cross-country, soccer, football, track and field and tennis — at North Johnston this year. He finished his career with a school-record 19 varsity letters in six sports, including wrestling his sophomore and junior years.
“I think you need to start with your options as wide as possible,” Walston said of playing as many sports as he could. “And then if one thing starts to work well for you, then specialize in that more. But I wouldn’t say go fully into that just right off the start.”
Things worked well in all sports for Walston, especially last fall. He was named to the North Carolina Soccer Coaches Association 2-A all-state team and claimed honor of 2-A Eastern Plains Conference Special Teams Player of the Year for his role as a kicker for the Panthers football team. Additionally, Walston notched his third All-EPC honor, this one in cross-country, for which he qualified for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2-A East Regional meet. He was likely to earn all-conference in tennis as he helped the Panthers get off to a 5-0 start.
Last spring, Walston and Carsse Lucas teamed up to win the EPC doubles title and were 3-0 this season when the shutdown hit.
“His competitive spirit, his desire to compete — those are things that are going make any athlete or young person successful,” said Panthers soccer coach Winston Pennington. “But that’s also tempered by a good sense of humor and a good heart in wanting to help others.”
MAKING IT HAPPEN
The oldest of Rita and Bruce Wall’s three children said she started playing three sports in seventh grade and had to learn quickly how to multitask and manage her time to stay ahead in school.
“I’d say the toughest thing is making time for myself during the day,” she said. “I mean, of course, I enjoy playing sports, and I enjoy doing school but just by making time for my family and for friends in the midst of all of this.”
Wall said she has been painting and drawing of late, adding to her musical ability. She plays piano, guitar and ukelele.
“It’s humbling and it just is very prideful about how she’s carried herself,” Bruce Wall said. “How she’s balanced it all and was able to keep such a high level, academics and still excel in every sport she’s tried. It’s just seemed like everything she does comes naturally to her.”
Walston’s parents are both educators. His mother, Catherine, teaches at North Johnston and his father, Brent, is the athletic director for Johnston County Schools and a former soccer coach.
While he looks to follow in his dad’s footsteps as a coach, Walston assured that his mom was a big reason for his success.
“She’s really been able to just take me everywhere that I’ve needed to go whenever I couldn’t drive, and then just even taking me from soccer practice up to the football field to kick for a football game,” he said. “Just the little stuff like that, she’s helped me out a ton just managing my time and getting me ready for the rest of my life just managing everything.”
FAVORITE MEMORIES
Walston had lots of big athletic moments over the course of his senior year but the one he cherishes came in his final football game for the Panthers.
Walston connected on a career-best 45-yard field goal to send the game into overtime in the season finale at Nash Central. North Johnston won 27-26 in overtime on Walston’s extra-point kick to end in a tie for third place in the EPC.
For Wall, her best memory is “definitely all my friends and relationships that I’ve built there.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Wall is headed to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she hopes to play volleyball at the club level. She said that it will be an adjustment not playing a sport in each season for the first time since sixth grade.
“It’s a little scary but I feel like I’ll be able to put more effort into volleyball,” she said. “I mean I love playing soccer and basketball too. I feel like I’ll be able to put more of myself into just volleyball.”
Walston grew up playing soccer but, despite opportunities to play the sport in college, is going to be a kicker for Barton College, which will have its first football team since 1950 this season under head coach Chip Hester.
“It was difficult,” Walston said of his decision. “I talked to a couple of coaches about playing soccer and then I just talked to Coach Hester about football and I just believed that football was the best choice for me.”
he Kaelyn File
Kaelyn Wall, Greenfield School
FAMILY
• Parents are Rita and Bruce Wall of Wilson
• Has two younger brothers: Bryson and Addison
ATHLETICS
• Played volleyball, soccer, basketball all four years
• Named All-Coastal Plains Independents Conference in all three sports as as senior
• Earned North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A All-State acclaim in basketball as a senior
• Named to NCISAA All-State teams in volleyball and soccer as a junior
• Two-time Wilson Times All-Area pick in basketball
ACADEMICS
• Has 4.78 GPA while taking Advanced Placement courses (Greenfield does not rank students)
• Was nominated from Greenfield for Park Scholarship to North Carolina State University
• Is a member of Student Government Association, National Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Buddies Not Bullies and Sign Language Club.
COMMUNITY
• Has volunteered for United Way Save-A-Youth, Diversified Opportunities, The SPOT, Wilson Crisis Center and YOUTH of Wilson
• Worked as an assistant teacher in preschool 2-year-old class in the Greenfield summer program
PERSONAL
• In third year playing for East Carolina Junior Volleyball Club of Greenville
• Plays piano, guitar and ukulele
• Will attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and major in psychology
• Plans to play club volleyball at UNC
By Paul Durham paul@wilsontimes.com | 265-7808
Even with a deep well of talented, accomplished, hard-working nominees, seniors Kaelyn Wall of Greenfield School and Graham Walston of North Johnston stand out as the respective 2019-20 Farris & Thomas Law Attorneys Female and Male Student-Athletes of the Year as presented by The Wilson Times.
Both teenagers exemplified the notion of multi-sport athlete while demonstrating excellence in academics and citizenship in the community, along with a host of other activities in which each is involved.
In the five-year history of the award sponsored by Farris & Thomas, Wall is the first Greenfield student-athlete to be honored. Walston joins fellow Panther Barrett Davis, the 2018 Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
“It’s amazing just getting it, honestly!” said Wall during at interview at her home Tuesday.
Her father, Bruce — also the girls basketball coach at Greenfield — broke the news to her earlier in the week.
Walston, caught by surprise when the plaque was presented to him outside his home Wednesday, echoed Wall’s reaction, saying: “It’s amazing. I was actually surprised just first off when I got it. I didn’t expect to get it at all but it’s just an amazing honor.”
AMAZING FEATS
“Amazing” would be an apt description for the senior years — abbreviated as it were by the COVID-19 pandemic — of the two. Wall was the Lady Knights’ go-to player on the volleyball court, the basketball court and the soccer field. She capped her hoops career by earning her first North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A All-State plaudit, to go with the ones she picked up for volleyball and soccer as a junior.
Wall was All-Coastal Plain Independents Conference in volleyball and basketball and, with two goals and two assists in four soccer matches this spring, was on track to complete the elite trifecta along with making the playoffs in all three sports.
Wall repeated as a Wilson Times All-Area selection in basketball, arguably her best sport, even though she loves volleyball.
She had never played until seventh grade, when she was a student at Community Christian School and Bruce Wall was coaching volleyball and basketball there.
“I had never played volleyball before the seventh grade and I had anticipated to play tennis for school,” she said, “but my dad ended up being the volleyball coach. And since I’ve just loved him being my coach so much, I started to play for him, and I just fell in love with it.”
Meanwhile, Walston juggled sports with aplomb, being part of no less than five teams — cross-country, soccer, football, track and field and tennis — at North Johnston this year. He finished his career with a school-record 19 varsity letters in six sports, including wrestling his sophomore and junior years.
“I think you need to start with your options as wide as possible,” Walston said of playing as many sports as he could. “And then if one thing starts to work well for you, then specialize in that more. But I wouldn’t say go fully into that just right off the start.”
Things worked well in all sports for Walston, especially last fall. He was named to the North Carolina Soccer Coaches Association 2-A all-state team and claimed honor of 2-A Eastern Plains Conference Special Teams Player of the Year for his role as a kicker for the Panthers football team. Additionally, Walston notched his third All-EPC honor, this one in cross-country, for which he qualified for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2-A East Regional meet. He was likely to earn all-conference in tennis as he helped the Panthers get off to a 5-0 start.
Last spring, Walston and Carsse Lucas teamed up to win the EPC doubles title and were 3-0 this season when the shutdown hit.
“His competitive spirit, his desire to compete — those are things that are going make any athlete or young person successful,” said Panthers soccer coach Winston Pennington. “But that’s also tempered by a good sense of humor and a good heart in wanting to help others.”
MAKING IT HAPPEN
The oldest of Rita and Bruce Wall’s three children said she started playing three sports in seventh grade and had to learn quickly how to multitask and manage her time to stay ahead in school.
“I’d say the toughest thing is making time for myself during the day,” she said. “I mean, of course, I enjoy playing sports, and I enjoy doing school but just by making time for my family and for friends in the midst of all of this.”
Wall said she has been painting and drawing of late, adding to her musical ability. She plays piano, guitar and ukelele.
“It’s humbling and it just is very prideful about how she’s carried herself,” Bruce Wall said. “How she’s balanced it all and was able to keep such a high level, academics and still excel in every sport she’s tried. It’s just seemed like everything she does comes naturally to her.”
Walston’s parents are both educators. His mother, Catherine, teaches at North Johnston and his father, Brent, is the athletic director for Johnston County Schools and a former soccer coach.
While he looks to follow in his dad’s footsteps as a coach, Walston assured that his mom was a big reason for his success.
“She’s really been able to just take me everywhere that I’ve needed to go whenever I couldn’t drive, and then just even taking me from soccer practice up to the football field to kick for a football game,” he said. “Just the little stuff like that, she’s helped me out a ton just managing my time and getting me ready for the rest of my life just managing everything.”
FAVORITE MEMORIES
Walston had lots of big athletic moments over the course of his senior year but the one he cherishes came in his final football game for the Panthers.
Walston connected on a career-best 45-yard field goal to send the game into overtime in the season finale at Nash Central. North Johnston won 27-26 in overtime on Walston’s extra-point kick to end in a tie for third place in the EPC.
For Wall, her best memory is “definitely all my friends and relationships that I’ve built there.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Wall is headed to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she hopes to play volleyball at the club level. She said that it will be an adjustment not playing a sport in each season for the first time since sixth grade.
“It’s a little scary but I feel like I’ll be able to put more effort into volleyball,” she said. “I mean I love playing soccer and basketball too. I feel like I’ll be able to put more of myself into just volleyball.”
Walston grew up playing soccer but, despite opportunities to play the sport in college, is going to be a kicker for Barton College, which will have its first football team since 1950 this season under head coach Chip Hester.
“It was difficult,” Walston said of his decision. “I talked to a couple of coaches about playing soccer and then I just talked to Coach Hester about football and I just believed that football was the best choice for me.”
he Kaelyn File
Kaelyn Wall, Greenfield School
FAMILY
• Parents are Rita and Bruce Wall of Wilson
• Has two younger brothers: Bryson and Addison
ATHLETICS
• Played volleyball, soccer, basketball all four years
• Named All-Coastal Plains Independents Conference in all three sports as as senior
• Earned North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A All-State acclaim in basketball as a senior
• Named to NCISAA All-State teams in volleyball and soccer as a junior
• Two-time Wilson Times All-Area pick in basketball
ACADEMICS
• Has 4.78 GPA while taking Advanced Placement courses (Greenfield does not rank students)
• Was nominated from Greenfield for Park Scholarship to North Carolina State University
• Is a member of Student Government Association, National Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Buddies Not Bullies and Sign Language Club.
COMMUNITY
• Has volunteered for United Way Save-A-Youth, Diversified Opportunities, The SPOT, Wilson Crisis Center and YOUTH of Wilson
• Worked as an assistant teacher in preschool 2-year-old class in the Greenfield summer program
PERSONAL
• In third year playing for East Carolina Junior Volleyball Club of Greenville
• Plays piano, guitar and ukulele
• Will attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and major in psychology
• Plans to play club volleyball at UNC
