Page 34 - South Mississippi Living - May, 2016

PEOPLE on the run
FAST FORWARD
Running for the goal: Biloxi student Wagner heading to West Point
story by Lisa Kröger photos by James Edward Bates
Ramsey Wagner does not look the part of a soon-to-be military athlete. With her long blonde hair, bubbly personality, and wide smile, she looks like she would be more at home cheering on the side of a football field with pom-poms in hand. Beneath the surface, however,
lies a fountain of hard work and determination. When Wagner sets a goal, she goes after it with everything she has, and that tenacity has landed her a spot running cross-country and track for the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Wagner’s love for sports reaches back to junior high school when she played tennis and was on the cheerleading squad. Eventually, she decided to focus on running. “These sports have taught me about leadership, perseverance, integrity, and joy,” she said when asked why she loves the sport. And that perseverance has gotten Ramsey far. Before her acceptance to West Point, she applied for a summer leadership experience at the school. “I had high hopes for it, but I didn’t get in,” she said. “Then my mom signed me up for
a cross-country camp there.” Even then, she wasn’t the fastest runner, but the coaches saw how she pushed herself to improve.
“I have been training at a gym for three years now, and getting up for 4:00 a.m. workouts has become a five-
days-a-week routine,” she said of her daily routine. She works with a personal trainer, in addition to her regular team practices. Of course,
she is a student first, and all of her training is done alongside schoolwork. Proving she does
not shy away from a challenge, Wagner is taking not one, but two Advanced Placement courses: AP Calculus and AP Chemistry.
Even with a full load of workouts and schoolwork, Wagner finds time to give back as much as she can. She is involved with campus ministry and student government. She is also the president of Mu Alpha Theta, the national high school mathematics honor society, where she tutors other students and is involved in fundraising.
In spite of her busy schedule, Wagner is a typical high school
girl, who enjoys spending time with her twin sister, Hannah. “One of the highlights of this year is that both of the girls were on the homecoming court,” her mother, Kathy Wagner, said. Ramsey was crowned the queen. “When they announced it, Hannah jumped up so high that we didn’t know who had won,” Kathy said, describing the exciting moment. “She was so happy for her sister.”
Ramsey Wagner comes from a big, close-knit family. She is one of five children, and the bond with her twin sister is one of her
34 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • May 2016
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