FARRIS & THOMAS LAW MALE STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Wilson Christian’s Scott makes a run at greatness

Some runners are born to greatness, while most have to work hard for it — some more so than others.

Wilson Christian Academy senior Lin Scott might fit each description above. Naturally gifted academically and blessed by a sheer determination to improve, Scott worked hard to pull himself from mediocrity as a middle school runner just starting into a truly elite runner by his senior year.

Along the way, Scott rewrote several record books and established himself as one of the all-time great high school distance runners not only in Wilson Christian history, but Wilson history. Scott’s excellence extended into academics as the No. 2-ranked senior at WCA with a 4.9 GPA as well as community service.

In a school year loaded with outstanding senior student-athletes in the Times readership area, Scott distinguished himself as the Farris & Thomas Law Male Student-Athlete of the Year as presented by The Wilson Times.

“It’s an overused word but dedication,” said Wilson Christian cross-country and track coach and founder Dwight Vanderboegh, before adding two more words: “Commitment. Persistence. Those words describe Lin Scott. It’s just an inner quality that he has that comes out and he has that stick-to-it-iveness.”

That “stick-to-it-iveness” is an apt description for Scott’s transformation from an also ran to elite in distance events. As one of many seventh graders whom Vanderboegh, a fervent booster of and participant in distance running, recruited to run for the Chargers, Scott wasn’t bad as a middle school harrier, but he decided to take it a little more seriously going into ninth grade.

“Really, when I got to high school, I figured out I was pretty decent at this,” Scott said. “So, I was like, I’m going to train and see where I can get with this and it really worked out.”

Scott won three North Carolina Christian School Association cross-country championships, including the last two, and three-peated as Wilson County Cross-Country Championship boys winner. Nearly each race, Scott would lower his personal record time.

While Wilson Christian’s track and field season, which isn’t sponsored by the NCCSA, is limited to a handful of special and weekend meets, Scott really opened some eyes this spring.

He broke a 16-year-old meet record in winning the 1,600-meter run at the Scott Jones Memorial Classic as presented by The Wilson Times with a PR-time of 4 minutes, 30.11 seconds. He continued to lower his PR in the 1,600, finishing with a 4:24.08 at Cary Academy Elite Sprint and Distance meet on April 26.

Scott and his perpetual running partner, Brett Walston, each inked running scholarships with NCAA Division I programs, believed to be a first for one school in Wilson County. Scott is headed to Charleston Southern and Walston to Campbell.

Vanderboegh said that “all of the right ingredients were on the shelf” for Scott to succeed as he has, especially having supportive parents, Kim and Linwood Scott of Lucama, who “encouraged his quest.”

Other ingredients were the expansive “God-given property” upon which WCA sits and Scott did much of his training; a running partner like Walston who constantly pushed Scott to run faster and longer; a meet schedule that pitted Scott against other elite runners and the final ingredient, Vanderboegh said, was Scott himself.

“A committed, dedicated person who attempted the ‘never-before’ of gaining a D-I scholarship,” the Chargers coach said.

Scott’s grades contributed mightily towards his higher education opportunities as well. He took Advanced Placement and Honors courses as well as Career and College Promise dual-enrollment classes through Wilson Community College. He served as vice president of the senior class at Wilson Christian and secretary of the school’s chapter of National Honor Society.

Active in 4-H since he was in elementary school, Scott has served as a volunteer Upward Basketball coach at Peace Church and at the Tobacco Farm Life Museum in Kenly. He also helps out on the family farm as needed.

Scott said that running was an ideal fit for his busy schedule.

“Yes, it actually helps because other sports like baseball and basketball, their practice time’s two hours,” he said. “Well, with some runs, you can be done in 30 minutes and that’s just a lot of time saved and you can focus that time on other things.”

The individualism of running is also an appeal, although the team dynamic was greatly valued by Scott in his love for the sport.

“There’s this team aspect still, but you can also shoot for individual goals,” he said. “And I really like looking at that. You still have a good team where you have a good bond, you have other people pushing you, but you can also go out and train by yourself and get better as a person.”

Scott isn’t just a runner, though. He was part of the Chargers bass fishing team that produced tournament wins in previous seasons. Scott approached those competitions as he does his races, although fishing took more time.

“That took time and practice, like going to different ponds and learning how to fish and then it translated to where we went to these different lakes and rivers,” he said. “You’ve got to work on your casting and everything, so it takes time.”

Farris & Thomas Law Male Student-Athletes of the Year, 2016-24

2016 — Jacob Williamson, Hunt

2017 — Jack Coltrane, SW Edgecombe

2018 — Hunter Perry, Southern Nash

2019 — Myles Cyrus, Fike

2020 — Graham Walston, North Johnston

2021 — Jacob Dienes, Home school

2022 — Oc Bolt, Fike

2023 — Jayden Mathews, Hunt

2024 — Lin Scott, Wilson Christian

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