Fred Allen Meyer, the University of Kentucky men's golfer who was a two-time state champion and part of team titles at West Jessamine High School in 2012 and 2013, jokingly issued a challenge to his younger sister, Edie, after a photo of the 2016 girls' soccer championship team was hung beside one of his championship photos at their high school.
“He told me after we won state, it was my junior year and I was all excited, but he said, ‘Well, I’ve still got you by one,’ so that motivated me," Edie said.
She got the last laugh in November; Edie kicked the game-winning penalty kick for the Colts' victory over Notre Dame to secure back-to-back state titles for the program.
It was her second decisive kick against the Pandas in as many years. West Jessamine won a 9-8 shootout decision at Notre Dame in the first round of the 2016 state tournament; the final goal was off Edie's foot.
“I think Notre Dame’s gonna come to our graduation at Southland (Church) and make sure she graduates and can’t come back next year," Colts Coach Kevin Wright said. "She’s an awesome girl and deserves everything that she’s gotten.”
Edie was presented with the girls' Champion Award during the second annual Bluegrass Ortopaedics Night of Champions on Thursday. The Champion Award, presented to one boy and one girl, is accompanied by a $2,500 scholarship and recognizes a high school athlete who overcame adversity or injury and "excelled beyond expectations in their respective sport(s)." Lexington Christian senior Logan Nieves, a football player, was this year's boys' winner.
During West Jessamine's home game against Assumption on Sept. 9, Edie's face collided with the face of a rival player in the first half.
"We got all the blood off me and I was super sore but I finished the game," she said.
Her family afterward sought the counsel of a dentist who happened to be in attendance. He recommended visiting an oral surgeon as soon as possible because she had four loose teeth and a deep wound in her mouth. She received stitches the next day and learned she'd broken some bones in the upper part of her mouth; a stint was placed and the loose teeth have since firmed up.
That was frustrating, but not as much as the surgeon's warning: don't play soccer for at least two weeks. The senior defender recoiled at the thought of missing any games in her final year but heeded the advice.
She returned at the end of September, just in time to fortify West Jessamine's defense for a postseason in which it allowed just one goal.
Instinct
Stepping up for a program-defining goal was nothing compared to stepping up to save a life.
West Jessamine held a preseason pool party in August. Brady Taylor, a team manager with Down Syndrome, was on a float that turned over in the deep end and he started to sink to the bottom. Edie, fully-clothed on the deck, jumped into the pool and brought him to dry land.
It was "just instinct," she said.
"I was the closest to him so I just jumped in and got him before I could even realize what I was doing, really," Edie said. "I was shook afterward. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what just happened?’ He’s so special to our team so I was so happy that it worked out and everything was OK."
Fred Allen wasn't Edie's only motivator. Her dad, Russ, is a state representative, and her mom, Alison, owns businesses in Lexington and Louisville.
“Both my parents have been perfect examples, really, of what a true leader should be," Edie said. "I just strive to be like them. It definitely helps having parents that aren’t the type to cut me any slack. They expect the best out of me and, so, I know their expectations and I have to meet those. They’re always pushing me to be the best me.”
Edie wants to play soccer and study business or pre-law in college. She's not firm yet, but she's leaning toward attending Transylvania University, where her mom went.
For now she's preparing for prom and excelling at a new sport, track. She's ranked first in the 400-meter dash among all runners in Class 3A, Region 7 with a 1:02.74 , and wishes she'd taken up track sooner to help improve her soccer speed.
Wright isn't surprised to see her setting school records on the track.
“Edie’s gonna do good at anything she does," Wright said. " … If I could find a way to fail her in my gym class I would love to get her back next year.”
She said immediately after Wright finished his sentence:
“And I would happily do it."
Spoken like a true leader.
This story was originally published April 19, 2018 8:59 AM.