May 29, 2007 By Jim Downey 3 min read

With the school year winding to a close and graduation looming in the near future, Mary Beth Giles still attempts to stay busy. That’s no small feat considering she was a three-sport athlete, ranked 35th in a class of 392, and played Sousaphone in the Mighty Falcons Marching Band.

Giles was selected as the top female student-athlete at Connellsville Area Senior High School and will receive a $500 scholarship through the Fayette County Student-Athlete Scholarship Program.

The program, sponsored by Davis and Davis Attorneys at Law in conjunction with the Herald-Standard, will provide $7,000 in scholarship money to 14 of Fayette County’s best and brightest student-athletes.

A banquet will culminate the program on Sunday, June 3, at the Historic Summit Inn. At that time, each of the 14 honorees will receive $500 toward a college education. HSTV will videotape the program.

Giles, the daughter of Corey and Elizabeth Giles of Connellsville, ran cross country in the fall, played basketball in the winter, and ran track in the spring. The fall was particularly a busy time with marching in the band at football games, parades and competitions.

Giles had a good fall season, going undefeated in Section 2-AAA meets.

Despite the hectic schedule, Giles said she’s going to miss all of the running around now that she’s going to West Virginia University to major in nursing.

“I’ll miss doing all of them in high school. There were no breaks in between,” explained Giles. “In the fall, I split band practice with cross country practices. Basketball was toughest to juggle. Practices were longer and it gets darker earlier.

“I’ll probably play intramural sports at WVU. I’ll keep running. I’ve always been busy, now I have nothing to get ready for. I have to have something to do.”

As with many of the honorees, juggling so many things taught Giles valuable lessons.

“I learned time management, and to keep working at it. I learned to always give it your all, and take nothing for granted.”

She isn’t sure in which direction her academic career will go, but her days of lugging around the Sousaphone seemed to be numbered.

“I’m not really sure. I’m debating whether I’ll go to medical school or the FBI (as special agent),” said Giles. “I’m done with the band. I like watching the games more than playing (the Sousaphone).”

With all the races and games played over four years, her final Fayette County Coaches Association Cross Country Championship is one Giles wishes she could run again. Rain from the previous day left mud around the course at Penn State Fayette, the Eberly Campus, and Giles, unfortunately, found a patch of the slippery stuff.

The slip was costly, knocking her down out of the lead group with Brownsville’s Erika Coffey, the eventual champion. Muddied, she gathered herself to finish second.

“I wish I could do the FCCA cross country meet over,” said Giles.