Introducing our WXXV Student-Athlete of the Week, D’Iberville discus and shot put thrower Aryn Eady

Growing up as a kid, our WXXV Student Athlete of the Week tried many different activities such as dance, softball, and basketball, and to no surprise she was good at just about all of them. During that time of trying different things, she knew for a fact she did not want to attempt track and field, but as we all know life has a funny way of doing things, and some opportunities literally come knocking on our door. Get to know D’Iberville’s shot put and discus thrower, Aryn Eady.

“I at first did not want to do track,” Eady said. “My friends kind of forced me into it when I was in the eighth grade and then covid hit. When I came back, I was playing basketball and volleyball and I was like I don’t really want to do track and then the coach came knocking on the door looking for me so he kind of forced me to come out here and I eventually fell in love with it.”

Aryn Eady is a hard working and talented senior at D’Iberville high school who excels in just about anything she does, and if at first she doesn’t succeed, her nickname is ‘the little engine that could’ because if she sets a goal and believes in herself, it’s only a matter of time that she’ll reach it.

With the help of her coach Donnel Fairley and Fairley’s Track club, she was able to reach a major goal in no time.

“I started off throwing 47 feet which is terrible, so of course I was very sad and said I couldn’t do this coach. I’m not going to be able to throw over 100 feet and he kept telling me to stick with it keep coming to practice everyday, keep working hard, which i did, and eventually in the same year i was throwing 108 feet, so I was like okay I’ll stick with it and now I’m throwing well over 120-130 feet so I’m very happy,” said Eady.

And who wouldn’t be happy about breaking not just one, but two school records at her high school? She currently holds the school discus record of 138 feet 11 inches, and the indoor shot put record of 36 feet seven inches. When not representing the school, Eady still competes individually year round.

“I do meets outside of the school during the summer. I went to South Alabama and competed a few times, and then I did the USTA Junior Olympics, so that was really fun.” If her track and field resume wasn’t impressive enough, her ambitions and goals aren’t limited to just athletics. She was recently named the Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year for the Gulf Coast chapter.

“The Boy and Girls Club of the Gulf Coast named me their Youth of the Year at their annual meeting in October,” said Eady. “That’s for leadership, academic excellence, and being involved in the community. I was chosen by a group of judges who are very involved in the community which I think included the Dean of MGCCC, one of the Harrison County marketing directors, someone who owns a bank, and many other different people, so it was very exciting and I’m very honored to have that.”

Speaking of honors, Eady can’t help but smile when discussing her future plans.

“I never thought I’d be playing a D1 sport, let alone it be track and field, so I’m very excited and happy I get to continue doing what I love with an amazing coach and some good teammates too.”

After being a Division One athlete, Eady has hopes of becoming an orthopedic surgeon serving athletes a part of the National Football League.

In D’Iberville, I’m Ansley Brent with WXXV News 25.