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Virginia Green
12th grade // Fairhope High School // Nationally Ranked Junior Golfer
Why she rocks
With a last name like “Green, ” how could Virginia not be a great golfer? The rising Fairhope senior has collected a mountain of accolades as the four-time winner of the Dixie Section PGA Junior Championship and has qualified to play in two USGA Girls National Championships.
Summer activities
Having just returned from the U.S. Amateur Qualifier in Atlanta, Virginia plans to spend her week off hanging out with friends, going to the beach and getting a little practice in before traveling to a tournament in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
The key to being a good golfer
“So much of golf is mental, so you have to stay focused and keep a good mindset.”
Hole-in-one?
“I’ve never had one! Two weeks ago, I had a shot that went straight into the hole, popped out and went off the green. That’s my luck.”
Future plans
Virginia is verbally committed to play for Vanderbilt University.
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Jeremiah Jackson
11th grade // St. Luke’s Episcopal School // Team USA Shortstop
Why he rocks
Very few 7th graders can boast a starting position on the varsity baseball team — especially one that went on to win back-to-back state championships. But, Jeremiah Jackson is a humble guy, and his stats speak for themselves. For the 2015-2016 season his batting average climbed to .531 with a .971 fielding percentage. Oh, and he can pitch an 83-mph fastball.
Summer activities
Playing travel ball with the Coast Titans keeps him on the field an average of 100 games per year in tournaments from Florida to New York. He was also chosen to attend the 17U National Team Development Program in Chicago.
Proudest moment
After five rounds of tryouts, he was selected to the 15U U.S. National Team that won the gold medal (only the second in U.S. history) at the COPABE “AA” Pan Am Championships in Aguascalientes, Mexico, last year. The team outscored their opponents 64-18 in the last five games of the tournament, and Jeremiah was named to the all-tournament team for his outstanding individual performance.
Future plans
While Florida, Vanderbilt, Stanford, University of Virginia, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, South Alabama and others have expressed interest, Jeremiah has verbally committed to play for Mississippi State University. After completing college, he hopes to be drafted to a Major League team.
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Mary Alice Jouve
10th grade // McGill-Toolen High School // Physics Researcher
Why she rocks
As a freshman, this young scientist took home quite a few awards from the 2016 State of Alabama Science and Engineering Fair. She won first place in the physics and astronomy category for her project studying light pollution and cloud cover. She was also awarded the American Meteorological Society’s Senior Best in Show Award and the University of Alabama in Huntsville’s Director’s Award, which is a four-year scholarship, among other accolades. Talk about brain power!
Summer activities
For most of her vacation, she volunteered at the University of South Alabama physics lab working with circuitry and assisting undergraduate students with research. She also attended Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth for physics and participated in the
Duke Talent Identification Program, where she took courses on nuclear energy.
Other Talents
Mary Alice is also passionate about playing piano and composing music. She was awarded Best Music Composition in the junior division by the State of Alabama Music Teachers’ National Association Composition Competition.
Future plans
She hopes to compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair when she reaches the eligibility age next summer.
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Margaret Carey
12th grade // McGill-Toolen High School // Gold Medalist Swimmer
Why she rocks
Margaret is a fierce competitor in the water. She’s a five-time NCSA Junior Nationals qualifier and a Southeastern Swimming 200-butterfly champion. She’s finished the state meet in 100-fly and 200 IM events in the top three five times, as well, and from 2012 to 2016, she’s been a 100-butterfly top four finisher in Alabama.
How she got started
“Swimming has always been a part of my life. That feeling of getting out of the pool and you are still sweating is the best in the world.”
Summer activities
Swimming — lots and lots of it! She practices with her team twice per day for six hours a day, and they practice yoga on Saturdays.
Proudest moment
Margaret was thrilled when she came from behind to win the 200-fly at the championship at Auburn. “Seeing everyone just light up — it was crazy!”
Future plans
She hopes to swim in college and is currently considering Louisiana State University but keeping her options open.
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Kaley Breland
11th grade // Baker High School // Dressage Equestrian
Why she rocks
At age 12, Kaley placed 2nd in the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s Regional Championships, ranking her 13th in the nation. She has since gone on to be awarded the U.S. Dressage Federation’s bronze medal.
Summer activities
In addition to working in the barn at Mimi C. Peters’ Silver Lining Farm and mentoring younger riders, she has been training with noted Danish dressage trainer Leif Sorensen to prepare for the American Eventing Championships in North Carolina next month.
Other talents
Kaley is also an accomplished thespian, achieving a superior ranking at the state Trumbauer Drama Competition.
Proudest moment
She takes pride in taming the horses no one else will ride. “I worked with one horse that had a slight bucking problem, and he went on to win his first show.”
Future plans
Her ultimate goal is to win a grand prix and qualify for the national junior dressage team.
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Zach McCleery
12th grade // St. Luke’s Episcopal School // Eagle Scout Candidate
Why he rocks
Zach McCleery has always had an interest in his biomedical health science classes, and he served as chief engineer for his BEST Robotics team. So his Eagle Scout service project was a natural fit; McCleery led a group of 120 volunteers to produce superhero-style prosthetic hands to send to needy children in Vietnam, with the help of the 3D printing prosthetic engineering organization, Enable Community Foundation.
Greatest reward
These hands are literally changing lives. “Once they strap that velcro on, these kids are able to grab a ball, ride a bike, climb a tree. It’s as strong as their forearm.”
Summer activities
He served as a counselor at Tukabatchee Boy Scout Camp, teaching camping and personal fitness merit badge courses. He also participated in the Summer Scrubs program to job shadow medical professionals around Mobile and Baldwin counties.
Future plans
Zach plans to pursue a career in emergency medicine.
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Jada Black
11th grade // Murphy High School // Spirit of the Community
Why she rocks
Jada’s school pride and leadership are second to none! She sat as freshman class president and, fittingly for her upbeat personality, is a Murphy cheerleader. Her passion is volunteering. She’s a 2016 graduate of Youth Leadership Mobile, where she organized a newborn clothing drive for Ronald McDonald House. She also volunteers at Springhill Medical Center, as she has for three years already, and was named 2014 Volunteer of the Year as a freshman.
Summer activities
Jada attended Auburn University’s College Preparation Summer Academy and took classes in math and science, two of her favorite subjects. She also went to cheer camp, where her squad won “the banana” for being the most spirited at the camp.
Her favorite thing
“Youth Leadership Mobile has brought me out of my shell so much more. It’s been a really great opportunity.”
Future plans
Jada plans on attending Auburn University and studying neurology and chemical engineering with a pre-dentistry concentration.
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Isabel Valenzuela
9th grade // St. Paul’s Episcopal School // Running Phenom
Why she rocks
Although just a rising freshman, Isabel has already compiled an impressive list of achievements in varsity cross-country and track. In addition to being named the cross-country 5A individual state champion for the past two years, Isabel is also a two-time AL.com Coastal Runner of the Year.
How she got started
Isabel ran her first race in 4th grade, but she didn’t start training until the 6th grade. “For me, running isn’t a race against anyone else, ” she says. “It’s just me and the clock.”
Summer activities
When she’s not running 800-meter repeats, 1-mile repeats or hills, you can usually find Isabel at the beach. “We’ll sometimes go deep-sea fishing or go to Orange Beach and fish off the pier.”
Proudest moment
After finishing in second place in her first cross-country meet at St. Paul’s, Isabel’s illustrious coach Jim Tate proudly patted her on the head, saying, “You did well.”
Future plans
Isabel’s goal is to receive an athletic scholarship.
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David Shivers
10th grade // UMS-Wright Preparatory School // Musician
Why he rocks
David is an accomplished musician, specializing in classical guitar and electric guitar. He is a member of the Wright Singers choral group and is the lead singer and guitarist for his rock band, Monarc.
How he got started
David first picked up the instrument at age 6, and his dad taught him his first two songs. “Music has always been the top priority for me. I’d have to quit other activities because I didn’t have enough time to play guitar.”
Other talents
David has achieved the Life rank with the Boy Scouts of America and has also worked as a volunteer counselor for the Mobile Bay Sailing School for the past four summers.
Summer activities
“I’ve been practicing with the band and writing as much music as I can.”
Future plans
“I’d love to be a touring musician, ” David says. “But if that doesn’t work out, I’d also like to be a music educator. Literally anything to do with music I’d be fine with as a career.”
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Noah Harrelson
12th grade // St. Paul’s Episcopal School // Scholar / Athlete
Why he rocks
Noah does it all, and he does it all pretty darn well. The St. Paul’s soccer standout is also preparing for his second year as the editor of the school newspaper. Not to mention, the rising senior is one of his school’s academic gems as a member of the Math and BEST Robotics teams. He also scored a near-perfect 35 on the ACT standardized test.
On the field
Noah plays center back for his school’s soccer team and has been a member of the Mobile County Battle of the Bay All-star Team for the past two years. His club team was the Alabama divison 1 state champion in 2015.
Fun fact
Noah founded the St. Paul’s Ultimate Frisbee Club and serves as club captain.
Summer activities
“I’ve been playing soccer and doing a lot of pleasure reading, ” Noah says of this summer. “I probably should start my summer reading at some point.”
Future plans
“I’ve been thinking about majoring in economics in college. I like the problem-solving aspect.”
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Pete McGriff
9th grade // Fairhope High School // Champion Sailor
Why he rocks
When he’s not traveling to regattas around the globe, he’s a volunteer sailing instructor at the Fairhope Yacht Club. And he dominates with his own Laser Radial vessel: he’s taken home 1st place in half a dozen regattas on the Gulf Coast, and he spent spring 2016 training in France (while taking classes online) with sailors from Hungary, Finland and Germany.
Summer activities
He spent some time at an Olympic development clinic in Rhode Island. At press time, he was prepping for the Junior Olympics in Pensacola and the Laser Radial Nationals in Ohio.
Memorable moment on the water
“At Lake Garda in northern Italy. The wind was going 40 miles per hour, and we went out one on one. It was snowing at the time, and you’d look up and see snowcapped mountains. The adrenaline rush — wow!”
Future plans
He’s thinking of becoming an engineer at Austal or a manager for boat-racing teams. Other than that, he has serious Olympic aspirations for sailing.
Photos by Matthew Coughlin
