Wray overcomes doubt, anxiety to win state title

JON DYKSTRA/THE FORUM
Platte Valley sophomore Mya Wray smiles after winning the 3200-meter state championship on Saturday in Jefferson City.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Mya Wray loves to run and always has. As a freshman, she made waves with always having a smile on her face as she made lap after lap on the track — winning a pair of state titles.

Going into her sophomore track and field season, that smile on the outside was hiding the pressure Wray was feeling on the inside. After winning her third individual state title — this one in cross country — Wray knew and was hearing the expectations.

“After cross-country this year, it was kinda hitting me,” Wray said. “I found basketball as a distraction, honestly. Even though I had to step in for the state game, it was way less pressure than I find any of this to be.”

In basketball, Wray got to play a role on a team where All-State players Maggie Collins and Brylie Angle were always going to have a majority of the expectations heaped upon them. Wray joined the starting lineup when Angle was injured and was the second-leading scorer in the state title win.

But immediately after the game, the pressure of ‘her’ sport began to mount again as someone mentioned to her that she’d soon add more state titles on the track. At that moment, Wray told her parents that she did not want to do track this spring.

“Of course, you love watching your kid compete, but it is hard when you see how much stress they are under,” her father Nick Wray said. “Before the track season even started, she was telling me that she was a failure if she didn’t get first. I was like, that is a hard way to go into a season for anybody.

“… Coming right after state basketball, walking out of the building, someone walked up to her and said, ‘Alright, now you are on to your next state championship.’ As soon as she walked out of state basketball, somebody said that to her and she just walked over to me and started bawling.”

The running was never something that bothered Wray, and she continued to run on her own, but she needed a break from the expectations.

“I had to be put on anxiety medications and everything to help me with it,” Mya Wray said. “Panic attacks and everything. My support system, my family, everything helped me through it. … They told me that I have nothing left to prove.”

The Platte Valley coaches worked with Wray, easing her back into the season. Her parents appreciated the space they gave her.

“I gotta give a lot of props to Mrs. (Amy) Holtman for working with her and understanding what she was going through, making sure she was comfortable along the way, not pushing her to do everything right at the very beginning,” Nick Wray said.

As the season got going, Wray was right into her winning ways. But then her fears were realized at the Tiger Relays in Grant City. Nodaway Valley’s Paige Hanson beat her in the mile — Wray’s first loss since the first race of her freshman season.

Something happened after that, and that something was nothing. Wray realized that losing a race didn’t change the way those around her looked at her. She responded the next meet in Tarkio with her best times of the season.

“My family is always there for me, always proud of me regardless,” Mya Wray said. “It is amazing.”

The 1600-meter run was Wray’s first event of the state weekend in Jefferson City on Friday and Wray took third behind Liberal’s Abby Barton and Hanson. She ran a season-best 5:29.67.

“Honestly, not winning the mile helped me relax a little bit,” Wray said. “I think that realizing that getting third place or getting last place, it doesn’t matter. I still know deep down that I am good.”

That weight off her shoulders felt evident in the 3200-meter run on Saturday where Wray smashed her season-best and her 11:52.52 beat the second-place time by 22 seconds.

“The main thing is that I want her to have the thing that she loves,” Nick Wray said. “I know she loves running because she started when she was 6 years-old running 5Ks. I want her to be able to have that love her whole life. I don’t think any championship is worth taking that away from her.”

Allison Riley finished 14th in the 3200-meter run while Wray and Riley teamed with Maggie Collins and Mylie Holtman to finish 12th in the 4×800-meter relay.

Collins has had her own spectacular career at Platte Valley as a 4-time All-State player in basketball and softball. She finished her career with a ninth-place finish in the shot put and a state medal with a seventh-place finish in the discus.

“A state medal is always special, but it being my last day wearing my Platte Valley uniform, it is even more special to go out on this note,” Collins said. “I’m just thankful for all the experiences that I’ve had on this team this year.

“This community and program has meant everything to me. It has built me into who I am today. I am so thankful for the support of our community. I’m just really thankful for all of our coaches and the teammates that I’ve had along the way. It has been a great experience.”

For the boys, the top performer was junior Justin Miller. Miller earned four state medals.

His top finish was in the triple jump where he was third with a 12.84-meter leap. He was sixth in the long jump with a jump of 6.22 meters.

“I did better than last year so that feels even better,” Miller said.

The Platte Valley relay teams were a mix of returners and newcomers with Lane Acklin, Alex Mattson and Brandon McQueen joining Ethan Holtman and Miller. The 4×400-meter relay team finished eighth while the 4×800-meter team was sixth.

“At the end of last year, I didn’t know this would be possible, but we got these baseball boys in here,” Holtman said.

McQueen credits Holtman with leading those relay efforts.

“He told us that it was senior year so you might as well give it a shot,” McQueen said. “He has been a great leader and he has pushed us all year. There is no one better to have on a team.”

Platte Valley senior Ean Meyer capped his Platte Valley career with a state medal in the javelin — taking fifth. Acklin was 14th in the high jump.

“It means a lot coming from a school where we are really competitive in sports,” Meyer said. “A majority of people there have a state medal — and just to get my own in my own event with a team, community and coaches to support me, it means a lot.”