Washington High School senior Bre Taylor has made one of the most important choices in her young life as she recently signed a letter of intent to attend Capital University in Bexley, Ohio.
Taylor was joined for the signing ceremony by her parents, Chris and Christina, her sister, Samantha, her basketball coach, Samantha Leach, team members and friends.
“I was looking into Wright State,” Taylor said. “Just going there, just going to college. I also looked into Otterbein to play basketball, but, I chose their rival, instead.
“There were some other schools, but, I didn’t enjoy their campuses as much,” Taylor said. “I didn’t find them a fit for me.
“When I went to Capital, it was like my home,” Taylor said. “I felt so comfortable there. It’s a beautiful campus and I fell in love with it.
“I’ll be playing basketball there,” Taylor said. “Sometimes point guard, sometimes shooting guard. My strongest feature is shooting. That’s what I think the coach saw in me. She saw my speed and how I ran the floor a lot.
“I’m going for accounting,” Taylor said. “I want to be a financial executive. I was looking into communications and marketing, but, then I fell in love with math and I love accounting.”
As far as favorite subjects in high school, Taylor said, “Math and science. I enjoy learning about biology. I was going to go for marine biology. Then I realized, accounting; I love math so it was probably the best (fit) for me.”
What about favorite teachers at Washington High School?
“I’d have to say Coach (Shannon) Bartruff,” Taylor said. “He was my accounting teacher. He’s helped me a lot. Really, all of them are so great. Mr. (Tom) Renick, he’s helped me a lot. I’ve been struggling through some stuff this year and he’s been with me for a while. He teaches psychology and sociology.”
Taylor was asked about a favorite memory and she went back a few years for this one.
“It would have to be when I was a little kid (fourth grade) and we were just starting a traveling team,” Taylor said. “Tony Jenkins and my dad were coaches. We were at practice and they gave us all dilly bars as a reward before practice. Then right after, we had to do sprints and a full-court lay-up. We were full and then we all wanted (to be ill). It was so bad. It taught us a lot. It gave us a lot of character. It helped us a lot.
“Winning the District championship was nice with my team,” Taylor said. “They are all like sisters to me. Growing up with the girls I’ve been playing with, and the other seniors, Hannah Haithcock, Maddy Jenkins, Kassidy Hines and Tabby Woods, growing up, they really inspired me. They pushed me even harder to be better than what I am. They have been down the road with me, with losses and big wins, like the District championship.
“Halli Wall, Shawna Conger, Abby Tackage, Rayana Burns, they are sisters to me,” Taylor said. “We’ve grown up together, even though they are a year younger.”
Thank yous
“I would like to thank my God, I pray to Him everyday,” Taylor said. “Like I said, I’ve been going through a hard time this year and just following His worship, it’s helped me a lot.
“I would like to thank my parents, Christina and Chris,” Taylor said. “I had both of them as coaches and they pushed me to be the best I could be. I was my mom’s ball girl when she coached. I was in the gym when I was nine months old. She’s inspired me ever since.
“I would like to thank coach (Samantha) Leach,” Taylor said. “She’s known a lot about me the last three years. That might be a short time to know someone, but, she’s helped me through so much. She’s given me the opportunity to be better.”
Taylor looked to the challenges that lay ahead.
“I’m excited,” Taylor said. “It’s going to take so much work. I want to put the work into it. For the next four years, my life is going to consist of basketball and school. I intend on trying to make the honor roll and be one of the top (students) in my class.
“It’s a fresh start,” Taylor said. “High school and college are completely different. I want to prove to people that I can be the best. I know with my new team coming up, they’re going to push me even harder. They’re going to help me through it.”
“Bre’s a really scrappy player,” Leach said. “She got a lot of steals for us this season. She runs the floor really well. She’s a great shooter. I think everyone saw that throughout the year. When we needed her the most, especially our District finals game, she made big plays.
“We’re really excited for her and this opportunity,” Leach said. “We’re excited to follow her success next year at Capital.”
