Rockets pick Tedrow, Headlee
Autumn Tedrow is Jefferson-Morgan's spring sports female selection in the Centennial Chevrolet Scholar/Athlete Spotlight program.
Joseph Headlee is Jefferson-Morgan's spring sports male selection in the Centennial Chevrolet Scholar/Athlete Spotlight program.
Autumn Tedrow and Joseph Headlee really don鈥檛 have all that much in common.
She is an only child, he has two younger brothers. She will study business administration at California University of Pa., while he will study accounting at Waynesburg University. She plans not to continue playing sports in college, while he will play football for the Yellow Jackets.
Tedrow and Headlee were selected to represent Jefferson-Morgan High School for spring sports in the Centennial Chevrolet Scholar/Athlete Spotlight program.
Tedrow, daughter of Amy and Chuck Tedrow, of Jefferson, maintains a 3.5 GPA. Headlee, son of Joe and Nicole Headlee, of Waynesburg, maintains a 3.6 GPA and his two younger brothers are Holden, a junior at J-M, and Cole, a second-grader.
Tedrow plays third base and shortstop when she isn鈥檛 pitching for the J-M softball team, and she is the middle hitter on the Lady Rockets volleyball team, but can鈥檛 truly commit to one sport over the other one.
鈥淚 really like them both and I feel they both have their exciting moments,鈥� she said. 鈥淣othing in one sport really trumps anything in the other sport. I really like getting a kill or a good block, but I also think there鈥檚 a lot of excitement in making a diving play or hitting a home run.鈥�
As far as lasting memories, however, it鈥檚 hard to beat the memory of J-M鈥檚 2015 WPIAL championship softball team, when the team rallied around the loss of assistant coach Chris Dugan to cancer to win the WPIAL crown.
鈥淚 would have to say that nothing can top that memory, what we had to overcome in 2015,鈥� Tedrow said. 鈥淚t was just a heartwarming feeling.鈥�
Tedrow鈥檚 college plans don鈥檛 include a glove, bat or volleyball, however.
鈥淚 really plan on focusing on academics in college,鈥� Tedrow said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really dedicated to going to college close to home.鈥�
Part of the reason is that Tedrow is very close to her parents and grandparents.
鈥淢y grandpa, Bill Lemley, has had a huge impact on me as an athlete,鈥� Tedrow said. 鈥淢y dad and my mom, too, they always run me everywhere for sports. Both of my grandpas have always been to my games, every single home game and most of the road games, too. Grandpa Bill always talks to me about baseball, the Pirates, so we have some good memories together.鈥�
Tedrow closed by sending out a big thank you to her parents and grandparents for always being there for her.
Headlee, too, is close to his family and mentioned that family is a reason he chose to stay close to home for college.
He is a left fielder on the J-M baseball team, but may move to center field this season because of his speed and overall field vision. He batted near the top of the lineup, but may drop back some this season so he鈥檒l be able to see more pitches.
Headlee is also a running back and cornerback on the Rockets football team and will continue playing football at Waynesburg, while studying accounting.
鈥淭he coach thought I would be a good defensive back at the next level,鈥� Headlee said. 鈥淚t will be interesting to see what the new head coach is like. I talked to (retiring head coach Rick) Shepas and I talked to (defensive coordinator) Scott Venick. I am already enrolled.鈥�
鈥淢y family has the biggest influence on me,鈥� Headlee said. 鈥淛ust coming out to games and always being there for me have meant a lot to me. Just making sure I always made it to practice. In fact, staying close to home and to my family was a big reason I selected Waynesburg.鈥�
Headlee lists camp week at the start of football season as his most memorable sports moment.
鈥淚t was just a lot of fun being with the guys all week,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e really bonded. And, at such a small school, I have a lot of the same teammates for baseball, so that makes baseball a special time of the year, too.鈥�