Track and Field Celebrates 4-Year Senior

 Kyla is majoring in Elementary Education with a minor in Music Education. Kyla's events have been shot put and discus. She has led the team as the throwing captain for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. 

Kyla attends Maranatha Baptist Church in Grimes, IA. She serves on the Outreach Ministry team Wednesday nights and the Hospitality Ministry on Sunday mornings. She has enjoyed serving with the Outreach team getting to know those who are in the community around her. It has been a great opportunity to get out of her comfort zone and work on having conversations with people she is unfamiliar with. One blessing from this ministry is she was able to visit with a lady who was saved. Kyla states that "this is a huge answer to prayer and an encouragement that God works on His timeline and wants us to be faithful to share with others even when the fruit doesn't show up on our timeline."

When asked what she has learned while at Faith, Kyla said, "the importance of people… my grades, my sports, my other extracurriculars- they won't matter in a couple years. People matter for eternity, so I need to see the people around me and invest in them."

Kyla has loved the atmosphere of the track and field team. The team has always been so supportive and encouraging to one another throughout her seasons at Faith. One of her favorite memories while on the team was when they attempted to throw discus blindfolded and completely failed and fell out of the ring! 

Kyla would like to thank Coach Long for being so supportive during her four years at Faith. He has always been willing to work with her schedule and had a great balance between pushing her to get better while understanding when other important things happen. She would also like to thank Jake Kirkwood, Chance Eden, Talitha Kirkman, and Gary Backous for their coaching impact as well. Not only have coaches been impactful to Kyla, but so have her teammates. She would like to give a thank you to them all, past and present, for always pushing her to get better and encouraging her in all things. 

Finally, she would like to thank her parents for their support and encouragement even though they are 8 hours away!