During the next several weeks, I’ll be taking a look back at some of the top seniors from the Class of 2024.

We lead off our Senior Spotlight with 5’3 Hailey Tharp of Newberry High School.

The saying, “Big things come in small packages,” is an accurate description of Tharp, who despite her stature had a remarkable prep career.

She participated in volleyball, track and field, and weightlifting for the Panthers, but the key was putting academics first.

“Remembering that in order to play, you have to do the work in the classroom,” she explained. “You have to put in as much effort in the learning environment as you do in your sports. You have to be equally dedicated to succeeding in both aspects.”

The hard work in the classroom paid off as she finished top 10 in her class and finished eighth out of 157 students with a 4.673 GPA.

In her magnet program, Criminal Justice, she was awarded the Director Award in 2022 and the Academic Award in 2021.

As for sports, it wasn’t until her freshman year that she spread her wings.

“I did gymnastics from the ages of 5 to 13,” she said. “I was forced to quit due to an injury my eighth-grade year. That’s when the pandemic hit, and I decided to branch out and try new things. I liked volleyball in PE, so I went to summer workouts before the start of my freshman year and fell in love with the sport. I made JV that year and that started my volleyball career.”

There were plenty of highlights on the volleyball court during her senior year.

The Panthers made it to their first final four since 2020 thanks to a five-set win at favorite Williston in the 1A-Region 4 Final.

“The celebrations after winning game point are some of my favorite moments,” she said. “Our student section was loud, our bench was always up and doing cheers, the parents were always up from their seats and cheering, and the coaches too. But once we earned that point, the way we came together afterward will always be my favorite moment, especially with my team senior year.”

Two very specific matches where this moment is highlighted were the first regular season game against Bell and the playoff win at Williston.

“I got the game point with a kill off of Hanna Templeton’s beautiful set and everyone jumped up,” she said about the win against the Bulldogs. “My teammates that were on the court came and piled in pushing me around hollering and the room erupted. The other game was the regional finals game at Williston. No one thought we could win except for us. And when Chloe Jones got an ace on game point, everyone jumped and was screaming and piling on top of each other. Those moments showed how we weren’t just a team, but a family.”

Tharp, who was recognized as the Pavlik Orthodontics Athlete of the Week for the week of Aug. 21 after averaging 15 kills and 10 digs through five games, was a second team All Area selection this past season as an outside hitter.

She set the school record with 359 kills in a season, which ranked third in the state in Class 1A.

Tharp, who was given the Most Improved Player award in the 2022-2023 season, was named her team’s Offensive Player of the Year this past fall. She was also selected to play in The Prep Zone All-Star Showcase in December featuring 41 players from 23 schools in the region.

Then, in February, she signed to play college ball at Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ).

“I plan to get my A.A. there and then transfer to a university and major in physical therapy to help young athletes come back from injuries stronger than before, and get them back out to their sport safely and efficiently,” she said.

Someone asked Tharp if she wanted to join the weightlifting team because they needed more people and with her strength from the gym she decided to take on the sport “and fell in love with that too.”

This past winter, she won a district title in the traditional competition and finished second in the Olympic competition.

The three-time district champion was the top lifter out of all weight classes at districts and regionals for traditional lifting.

She was a regional champion in the traditional with a 285 total (121.6 body weight and 140 bench & 145 clean and jerk) and seventh in the Olympic competition with a 245 total (145 clean and jerk and 100 snatch).

Tharp was a state qualifier for traditional and placed seventh in the 129-weight class with a body weight of 121.6 and a 285 total (145 bench & 140 clean and jerk), which helped lead to her selection to be in the North Florida Weightlifting All Star Meet.

“From my four years of doing weightlifting it was pretty uncommon to see people lifting weights as heavy as I did, at least on bench,” she said. “By my sophomore year every coach from the opposing team and the majority of their lifters knew who I was and what I could lift so when it was my third attempt for each lift, they knew I was going for a PR.”

Two specific meets that highlight this were when she was at regionals and state this year and had to bench a PR (140) to win because she was behind with her cleans weight.

“When I got the lift my dad (William), who was spotting me, picked me up and hugged me and everyone at my platform cheered,” she said. “The other moment was at state, same scenario. I was in 12th place with my cleans weight and when I went on bench the judges wished me luck and I fought for a while with the weight. With my dad spotting me and his constant yelling to shoot it up and everyone else’s shouting, I got up 145 (a PR) and the judges congratulated me and everyone high-fived me. That one lift brought me up to seventh place in the state.”

In track, Tharp was a three-time regional qualifier for the long jump and one-time regional qualifier in the 200-meter dash.

“Oak View Middle School has a field day each year and I was the fastest girl all of my years there and ran the 100m for their team,” she said. “This made me want to run on an official team especially since my best competitor and old friend Jamia Hunt was going to be running with me, pushing me to be better.”

She was a three-time district champion in the long jump, including a state qualifier in the 2024 season where she placed 10th with a 5.28-meter leap (with an injury).

Tharp said track and field “is a brutal sport but meets are the best part about it.”

“My favorite moments will always be having sidebar conversations with my competitors before heats or jumps,” she said. “Like weightlifting, many coaches and athletes knew who I was when I went to the long jump pit, but my favorite moment of all has to be when my mom called me and told me that I qualified for state.”

To qualify for the state meet you have to get top two at regionals, but they have a bid where they hand-select people to go based on other’s jumps and stats.

“By a miracle, I was selected to go even though I placed sixth,” she noted. “This moment is my favorite because I thought my season was over but I got another chance and got 10th place in the state.”

But aside from all the accolades and medals she received playing sports, she said the bonds that she created with teammates, coaches, and her competitors, are what she will remember the most.

“I will remember the celebrations each team had and the different atmospheres of each sport,” Tharp said. “I will remember the cheers before games in the locker room and the cheers from the student section and the bench. I will always remember to ‘intimidate and dominate.’ I will remember the encouragement and respect that I received while lifting from my teammates and competitors. I will remember the feeling of flying when I jump and the rush of adrenaline before the gun shoot. But most importantly I will always remember how all three of these sports and how all my teammates and coaches have shaped me into the athlete and person I am today.”

Now that her high school career has come to an end, she has some great advice for rising seniors.

“You are your biggest competitor,” Tharp said. “Don’t worry about what your competitors are doing, worry about you. Always have them in mind to push yourself but it’s what you are doing to succeed not what they are doing to make you succeed. Put in the work and strive to be better. Earn your spot.”

She said if there is an expectation, reach it and go above and beyond.

“Leave no room for questions about your ability, prove it with your performance through the work outside of the playing field,” she said. “When people tell you that you can’t do something, prove them wrong in more than one way. Let anger and frustration propel you forward, don’t let it drag you down but rather use it to your advantage. Everyone has off days and your poor performances do not define you. You have to be as mentally strong as you are physically.”