Kayla Beaman signs NIL
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WHEATLAND – Wheatland High School track standout, Kayla Beaman has just recently signed a letter of intent to run track for NCAA Division 3 Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.
Heading 900 miles away may be a daunting task for most students, but Beaman is looking forward to the new challenges and says that she is ready to join her new team.
Beaman has been a “Wheatlander” for almost all of her life and moved to Wyoming from Colorado when she was 5 years old.
She says that she is going to miss the support that she has received from her teachers and from the students and of course, the environment. One thing that will only change slightly is the wind as they don’t call Chicago the windy city for nothing. Galesburg is not however named for it’s windy climate, but rather after George Washington Gale who was a Presbyterian minister.
As for her early beginnings in track, she says that her mom encouraged her to try it out when she was in sixth grade. At first, she said it was a little rough, but then she said that she absolutely fell in love with it.
Her career here in Wheatland included running the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 4 x 100-meter relay and the sprint medaly.
“Last year we won the 4 x 100-meter relay,” she said. “In the 100 and 200 I got fourth place in both at state.”
She was noticed by Knox College track coach Evander Wells and he invited her to come out for a visit.
“I went out and visited in May,” she said. “I mainly went for the track team, but I know that from my visit that the community is very supportive there. It’s just kind of where I want to be. I was on ‘Next College Student Athlete’ and their coach reached out to me.”
They have plans to encourage Beaman to continue on with her sprinting, according to her.
“I wasn’t really fast in sixth grade,” she said with a laugh. “I guess I just learned how to run.”
She said that she owes a lot to her mentor, Coach Matt Hazen.
Beaman said that she knew Konx was interested last year, but she didn’t make a final decision until just recently. She also liked the academic programs at Knox and says that she is going to major in biology and go on to be a physical therapist or possibly go into sports medicine.
As for other hobbies that Beaman enjoys, she loves playing her flute and spending time with her friends.
