The December 2021 recipient of the Beth Webster Leading Lion Award is New Richmond Middle School 8th grader Riley Davis.
She was nominated by Principal Court Lilly in recognition of her outstanding athletic and academic achievements as well as for her tremendous consideration for others. Mr. Lilly said that he’s known for some time that he wanted to recognize Riley as a Beth Webster Leading Lion.
“While I am going to highlight some of the things I know about Riley tonight, I am sure there are just as many additional things that could be added to the list,” he said.
Last school year, Mr. Lilly said, Riley emerged as the leader of her cross country team. She demonstrated to her teammates a strong work ethic and led them to place 1st or 2nd as a team on more than half of their meets. Individually, Riley earned an SBAAC Cross Country title and went on to place in the top 15 at the state meet. During the winter months, she joined the swim team. That spring, she ran track where she earned SBAAC titles in the 800 and 1,600-meter races.
This fall Riley returned to the NRMS cross country team as a leader. This year the team placed 1st or 2nd in nearly all of its meets. Riley repeated as the SBAAC Cross Country champ placing 1st individually in 10 of her 13 races. Riley also placed 6th at state and 30th at the National Cross Country Championships.
Mr. Lilly shared a statement from cross country coach/social studies teacher Toby Lewin: “Riley never balks at a workout. She is always in the top of the workouts even leading many of the boys most days. Her teammates respect her and strive to be like her. In one particular practice, teams were being chosen to run relays and Riley was a captain. Riley’s first pick was the slowest on the team, whose eyes lit up immediately at being chosen first. Riley continued picking in this manner until her team was filled out. Her relay team did not win that day but something way more important happened.”
“That’s the kind of thing I see from Riley on a daily basis,” Mr. Lilly said. Riley is also involved in her church and outreach programs. She serves in the church nursery, babysitting for the kids during adult small group night. She is active in her youth group on Thursdays. Academically, she is enrolled in advanced science, advanced English language arts, Spanish I for high school credit, and advanced algebra I for high school credit.
For these reasons and more, Riley Davis is a Beth Webster Leading Lion. You can see Mr. Lilly’s presentation here: https://youtu.be/MMiT3XD7c1w?t=53