Midway's Rylie Williams wins Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award nearly 30 years after her father won

By Pat Welter

At Midway High School, Rylie Williams is all in.

"Just don't take anything for granted," Williams said. "Do as much as you can because it's going to end eventually."

The senior is a captain on the Volleyball, basketball and softball teams. She has a scholarship to play softball at UNC Greensboro next season. Williams is also equally dedicated to her school work. She's a top ten student in her class and a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Future Farmers of America.

"It's been hard, a lot of time management," Williams said. "Waking up early and going to bed late."

When she says early and late she means it. During the pandemic she's spent more time at home which meant she could help out on the family farm.

"We grow sweet potatoes, tobacco, and beans sometimes," Williams said. "We just started growing watermelons. Always growing up on a farm. I love it."

"I just think she gets to see the hard work that goes in," Rylie's father Terry Williams said. "We are very involved with my parents, the family aspect of it. They get to see how we work together and help each other out sun up to sun down."

Terry Williams is a farmer now, but in high school he was a pretty good athlete too. He played football, basketball and baseball at Midway. He went on to play college baseball at UNC Wilmington. In 1992 Terry won WRAL's Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award. Almost thirty years later, Rylie is making it a family tradition.

"I think it's really cool that he got it and now I'm getting it," Rylie said. "It shows that everyone in my family is a hard worker and we go for what we want with sports and everything in life with work too."