Senior Abby Newton is not only fully invested in her athletics and academics at Sheridan High School; she is arguably one of the most inspiring upperclassmen. She is an exemplary student and athlete, giving the younger students someone to look up to. 

   Newton has been involved in cross country and both indoor and outdoor track for the past four years. She also actively participates in organizations within the school such as National Honors Society and Big Brothers Big Sisters. 

   Newton took up indoor and outdoor track freshman year and has never looked back since. “It turns out I really liked [cross country and track], and I was actually pretty good at it,” said Newton. Newton enjoys participating in these activities, not only because of the people she gets to surround herself with, but because it has a lot of individual components to it, and she is able to see her progression with all the work she puts in. “There’s a lot of people doing a lot of different things,” said Newton. “What’s cool about that is everybody is always trying to make themselves better and try to push themselves to compete better.” 

   Newton is passionate about track, and that is shown through how she supports her team, even when she is not competing, showing others what it means to truly be invested in a team or sport. Newton does not just focus on one main event; in fact, she pushes herself to be competitive in multiple events including the 800-meter, 1600-meter, and 3200-meter, 4×800-meter relay, 4×400-meter relay, and sprint medley. Newton has found her passion with track, and she also is grateful for the lessons it has taught her over the years. “Track is one of those things where what you put in is what you get out,” said Newton. “It’s also taught me that there’s only so much that I can control. I can control what I do, but I can’t control what others do, and so just being competitive and working hard is what I can do, and if I do that, I’m going to do well.”

   Alongside Newton being competitive and working hard on the track, she takes her learning into her own hands and takes pride in her education. Newton has a 4.0 grade point average and enjoys the classes she is taking this year. Her classes that are given at the high school include adaptive physical education, AP Calculus, English 1010 and orchestra, but she is also taking multiple college courses such as human biology and criminology. Her favorite class she is taking this year is AP Calculus because she really enjoys her teacher, Issac VanDyke, and his ability to have humor within a classroom setting. VanDyke says he loves having Newton as a student and also loves coaching her because of her humor too. “She makes me laugh all the time,” said VanDyke. “I think she has great humor, and she just has a great personality.”

   Newton also interns at a veterinary hospital and with engineers at the forest service. Clearly, Newton’s plate is full, and yet she balances all her tasks easily. Newton has a lot of people she appreciates for getting her this far, especially her mom and dad, but her biggest influence currently is one of her track coaches, Taylor Kelting. “He’s always been there for me, and that’s really cool, and it’s been super helpful,” said Newton. “He’s just a very kind person and he believes actions are stronger than words.”

   Newton plans to take her running career further into her future, and has signed to run cross country and track for the University of Wyoming down in Laramie. She was originally planning on majoring in biology, but she is considering changing that so she can pursue a career in architectural engineering. She hopes to work in a place such as the forest service so she can put to use her environmental skills and knowledge. 

   If Newton had one piece of advice to give the younger athletes on the team, it would be to not be afraid and give it their all. “Just go out there and don’t be afraid,” said Newton. “When things get difficult, like you get tired or sore, just keep pushing yourself because you can do great things that you don’t think you could do.” Newton is looking forward to expanding her passion for running when she gets to college and is ready to have a schedule that is on her own time as well. VanDyke believes that Newton is capable of accomplishing whatever she sets her mind to because of her passion and determination. “I think she’ll put a lot of grit and sweat and tears into the next four years at the University of Wyoming,” said VanDyke. “I think she’ll be a really awesome teammate whether it be in the workforce or on her athletic team.” With Newton’s passion for running and ability to be a positive role model towards others around her, she will thrive in whatever the next step of her life is. 

   Newton is the daughter of Chris and Becky Newton.