Kathryn Lyons

Blessed to Be Her Best

Her potential is a gift. Her drive to achieve it is a calling.

For Kathryn Lyons, earning the top grades in her class, taking first place in a race, and leading her school volleyball team to win at states for two consecutive years is about more than racking up new accolades. For this valedictorian and all-star player, it’s about honoring the God she loves and using the talents and abilities with which she has been gifted in the best ways possible. It’s what pushes her to put in extra hours of practice and study. “I do not want the gifts that I have been given to go to waste because I am unwilling to put in the work to develop them,” she says. “I want to reach my full potential as a student, athlete, leader, daughter, friend, and classmate.”

At school, Kathryn plays four different sports and has achieved All-State status in each of them. To challenge herself in new ways, and to help her father improve his health at the same time, she and her dad decided to train for an Ironman 70.3 together. They dedicated hours to practicing each day, only to find that the race they had planned to run was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions. Fortunately, they were able to find and register for a different race. Kathryn finished as third overall female for her age group in the Fall Creek Falls Half Iron Man Event—her first triathlon. But she gained so much more from the experience, including deepening her relationships with her dad. “My dad lost a lot of weight, I accomplished a big physical challenge, and we grew closer through our training,” she says.

While Kathryn has a long list of achievements to her name, her path has not been without its obstacles. In 7th grade, she broke both bones in her lower leg during a soccer game and had to miss most of her season. She also had a difficult time forming meaningful friendships while in middle school. Those experiences did a lot to shape her perspective on sports, hard work, and, ultimately, acceptance of others. By accepting her limitations and allowing herself to be vulnerable, she gained new insight into the feelings of others and has become an even stronger and more mindful person. “I want others to know that people do care about them, but we have to tear down the walls of pride, prejudice, and pretending in order to accept people as they are,” she says. This is just one more way in which Kathryn strives to do her best and achieve all of which she is capable.