Photo Courtesy Hallee Layman - Willapa Valley HS senior Hallee Layman will attend the University of Hawai'i at Manoá on a four-year track and field scholarship.
MENLO - Willapa Valley HS senior Hallee Layman is living a dream. Layman recently signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Hawai'i at Manoá on a track and field scholarship.
Layman's scholarship covers her full tuition, books and fees for the next four years.
"Depending on how well I do during my senior season, and once I get to U of H, I can earn more (money) on top of that," Layman said.
For many, just a vacation to Hawaii would be a dream come true.
"I chose University of Hawai'i at Manoá because of all the offers I received, they made me feel the most at home," Layman told the Herald. "All the athletes and coaches that I met made me feel welcome, and ultimately I knew that wherever I chose would be my home for the next four years. In addition, it felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to live in paradise for four years.
"The campus is absolutely beautiful and they also have a tremendous amount of other competitive sports programs that I will be able to watch and support," Layman added. "The U of H men's volleyball team is actually ranked first going into the season this year. I will be minutes away from the beach, and loads of great restaurants. So, I definitely will not ever be bored."
Layman, who holds several school records, will compete in the shot put, discus, hammer and weight throw.
"I will be competing in both the indoor and outdoor seasons," Layman added. "During indoors. I will compete in the weight throw and the shot put. During outdoors, I will compete in the hammer, discus, and the shot put."
"My goals for this year are 50 feet in the shot, 165 in the discus, and 170 in the hammer," Layman said.
Layman received other offers but decided on taking an adventure to Hawaii.
"I received offers from other schools, but the ones I considered the most were those from Eastern Washington University and Grand Canyon University in Phoenix Arizona, all Division I colleges," Layman said.
Layman plans to become a physical therapist.
"I intend on majoring in Exercise Science to earn my Bachelor's (Degree), then attending an accredited PT School on the mainland to become a physical therapist," Layman said.
Besides track and field, Layman was a star volleyball player for the Vikings. Last month she competed at the Senior All-State Coaches Volleyball Match at Burlington.
"It was quite the honor to get to play one last time with the best of the best," Layman said.
Layman was also one of Willapa Valley's top basketball players, but chose to devote her time to track and field this winter.
"It was a really tough decision deciding not to play basketball this year, considering how much I love my teammates and playing under Coach (John) Peterson," Layman said. "But in the end, the opportunity to be able to train full time was more important to me and my goals. Additionally, the risk of injury was just too high, especially considering I have broken both of my wrists playing basketball in the past three years."
Hallee is the daughter of Michelle and Heath Layman.