FAYETTEVILLE — Macy Manning wants it made clear she’s not an airhead, a nerd or a jock.
Manning laughs about the stereotypes people try to pigeon-hole on her. It’s not every day people meet a high school cheerleader who has a perfect ACT score and a bushel of track and field state championship trophies.
For her combination of brains and athleticism, Manning is the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Girls Academic Athlete of the Year.
“It’s just an honor,” said Manning, who graduated first in a class of 605 from Fayetteville. “I am totally surprised. I had no idea I was nominated or that was going on.”
Manning’s resume certainly stood out. She made a 36 on her ACT — after scoring 34 on her first attempt — and graduated with a 4.333 gradepoint average.
She was captain of the Lady Bulldogs’ cheerleading squad, which won two state titles. As a hurdler and sprinter, she was a four-time state champion, a two-time winner at the Meet of Champs and two-time All-Arkansas selection.
“At track, I’m all sweaty and gross, and people don’t think I put on makeup,” Manning said. “They can think whatever. I change depending on what I’m doing. It’s funny to joke about it, and my coaches tell me I’m the only hurdler who wears red lipstick.”
Manning said she catches the most disbelief from people when they hear about her perfect ACT score. True, less than 1 percent of students score 36 on the ACT and Manning is quite pleased to achieve it, but it’s not like she spent hours a day cramming over study guides.
“It cracks me up when people say, ‘Oh, you made a 36,’ and they assume I devoted my life to that,” Manning said. “It’s not like that at all. It’s been the best of both worlds.”
Manning said she and her friends at school had an unofficial group called the 35 Club comprised of those students who had scored a 35 on the ACT. Manning retook the test in part so she could qualify.
“There was a joke 35 Club, and I’m a 34!” Manning said, laughing. “I wanted to take it again and get it up.”
Manning may seem all sweetness and smiles, but that hides a bona fide cut-throat competitor. Her family knows this from supposedly friendly home Monopoly games, and the rest of the state learned at track and field meets.
“Since I was little, I’ve been the most competitive person,” Manning said. “Monopoly, Go Fish — I had to win. I’ll do whatever it takes. It’s burned into my personality.”
Manning didn’t begin competing in track until ninth grade after concentrating on gymnastics. Her Fayetteville coaches, realizing her gymnastic background and speed, put her in the hurdles.
In her three-year career, Manning won one indoor and three outdoor hurdling state titles. As a member of the school’s 400-meter relay team, she won two more state titles and finished first at the Meet of Champs twice.
She had offers from numerous schools to run track and finally decided on Princeton instead of Arkansas.
“She worked hard and wanted to do her best at all times,” Fayetteville Coach Drew Yoakum said. “People don’t realize how much work she puts in.”
Manning has already made the Princeton cheerleading squad for this fall and will run track in the winter and spring. She is curious to see how she will handle those two activities while majoring in pre-med at a demanding Ivy League school.
“Taking it to the next level is definitely going to be different,” Manning said. “It definitely will be a heavy load. I don’t devote that much time to studying out of class. I’ll have to change my study habits for sure.”
Manning at a glance
SCHOOL Fayetteville CLASS RANK 1 of 605 ACT SCORE 36 GRADE-POINT AVERAGE 4.333 SPORTS Track and field/cheerleading COLLEGE Princeton MAJOR Pre-med NOTEWORTHY Won Class 7A titles in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles as a junior ... Won Meet of Champs titles in 400 relay in 2010 and 2011 ... Two-time All-Arkansas track and field performer ... Cheerleading captain of two-time state champions.
Sports, Pages 21 on 07/15/2012