Freedom’s Shaye Bailey named 2022-23 TribLive HSSN Girls Athlete of the Year
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Sunday, July 2, 2023 | 3:10 AM
Freedom’s Shaye Bailey celebrates with teammates after defeating Springdale in the WPIAL Class A championship game on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, at Highmark Stadium.
Freedom’s Shaye Bailey drives to the goal to score past Springdale’s Tara Overly during the WPIAL Class A championship game on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, at Highmark Stadium.
Freedom’s Shaye Bailey heads the ball past Greensburg Central Catholic’s Sophia Fisher during the WPIAL Class A girls semifinals Oct. 31, 2022 at North Allegheny.
Freedom’s Shaye Bailey drives against Neumann-Goretti’s Mihjae Hayes during the PIAA Class 3A state championship game on Saturday, March 26, 2022, at Giant Center in Hershey.
In an era where specialization is trendy in high school sports, Freedom’s Shaye Bailey doesn’t like that idea.
“I’ve always played more than one sport,” said Bailey, who’ll be a senior in the fall. “I did gymnastics and softball, and I switched to basketball when I quit gymnastics. Then I added soccer. And everyone said I was fast, so I said, ‘Sure. I’ll just join the track team.’”
She’s proven herself successful in multiple sports, which is why Bailey is the 2023 TribLive HSSN Girls Athlete of the Year.
In the fall, Bailey was a leading scorer for a Freedom girls soccer team that went 20-5, won a WPIAL Class A title and finished as the state runner-up. As an all-WPIAL player, Bailey set a school single-game record by scoring seven goals in a first-round win in the state tournament.
In the winter, Bailey was an all-state guard and 21-point scorer for a Bulldogs basketball team that went 20-6 and won a share of the section title. The team finished as the WPIAL Class 2A runner-up after she missed the postseason with a broken collarbone.
If that wasn’t enough, Bailey returned to health in time to play two spring sports: softball and track. She finished 10th in the 400 meters at the WPIAL track championships, and her 1,600-meter relay team finished 11th.
“When I got into high school, everyone was like, ‘You’re going to have to pick between softball and track,’” Bailey said. “I said, ‘I really can’t.’ There’s no way I can. I love them both.”
There’s no reason to change now, so Bailey said she’s ready for a busy senior year ahead.
Bailey spoke with TribLive HSSN’s Don Rebel about her multi-season success, how she was named after a baseball stadium, what sport she’d like to play in college and more on the Rebel Yell podcast.
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: Freedom
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