Positive attitude and strong academics focus for Taylor

Every month we feature a story on a student-athlete of the month. This post is sponsored by Christie Clinic.

Maclayne Taylor has great grades.

Taylor, who is ranked 13th in her senior class, has a overall GPA of 4.18.

Taylor starts her school day in Spanish IV, her favorite class.

“The thought of knowing two languages is very cool and I like learning more about it,” she said.

Taylor has been named the St. Joseph-Ogden Student-Athlete of the Month.

She was selected not only for her grades, but for her attitude.

“Maclayne has a tremendous amount of respect for coaches, teammates and officials,” said her coach Kevin Taylor.

Assistant Coach Alisyn Franzen agreed.

“Maclayne is a fanastic leader,” Franzen said. “She is not always the loudest or the most vocal but she leads in a quiet, yet powerful, way.”

Franzen said Taylor is positive and encouraging in all situations and the younger athletes look up to her.

“In fact, we asked JV players who they most look up to on the varsity team and a great number of them said Maclayne because she is so kind, positive, accepting and helpful.”

Maclayne plans on attending college and playing basketball after she graduates SJO. However, she has not yet decided where she will attend. She hopes to major in graphic design.

Maclayne said the best part about being a student-athlete at SJO is being part of such an exemplary program.

“We have had so much success in multiple sports,” she said. “The community being behind us, the bonds with teammates and the memories we made along the way are amazing as well.”

One of those memories was in the third place state game where she was asked to guard Hillsboro’s toughest player.

“She did a great job even though the Hillsboro player was bigger and could post up as well as hit from outside,” Kevin said. “In fact, Mac held her to around 15 points until the fourth quarter, a great accomplishment against a first team all-stater who averages 27 or more points per game.”

Maclayne also hit a buzzer beater to win the game against Camp Point in the State Farm tournament after Christmas.

“That was a memorable moment for all of us,” Kevin said. “But for Maclayne it was a small example of her contributions to the team.”

Maclayne said she was honored to be nominated for Athlete of the Month.

“I’m thankful for all of the great coaches I’ve had throughout my high school career,” she said.