Jessica Secor 

RedEye’s October female athlete of the month is cross country runner Jessica Secor (11, HSU). In October, Secor came in first in the JCPS Championships and in Region 3A Championships, which she sees as her greatest individual accomplishment this season. She also finished top 20 (17th) at the State meet, contributing points to the girls’ cross country team a second-place finish. 

Despite not getting a PR (personal record) this season, Secor still managed to refocus and excel this season. “I just had to stop focusing on time and more so on how I felt during a race,” she said. “I also focused on running for the team and not myself so I had more motivation to power through in the difficult parts of a race.” 

In adopting the “team-first” mindset, Secor stepped into her role as a leader on the team. “While I don’t really know the impact I had on the team this year, I really tried to make everyone feel included and welcomed because I knew how hard it was not to know many people,” she said. 

Being only a junior, she has high expectations for next season. “I just hope that our team continues to grow closer together and we continue to be one of the top teams in the state,” she said. 

Secor also runs track, which will begin in the spring around March. 

JaWaun Northington

RedEye’s October Male athlete of the month is football player Jawaun Northington (12, HSU). Jawaun has had a very decorated career at Manual, including earning all-district team all four years, was district player of the year in 2019, earned honorable mention all-state in 2019 and All-Metro offensive team honors last season. This season, Northington has run for 868 yards and 24 touchdowns despite missing two games against North Hardin and Valley due to a high ankle sprain. 

“I feel like my biggest accomplishment this season was battling back from my injury and still being able to help my team win games,” he said. 

Northington has been getting varsity minutes since he was a freshman, but as an upperclassman this year, he notes he felt more accountable for his team. “[getting older] helped me realize that I am one of the oldest on the team and underclassmen look up to me,” he said. “So I wanted to be a good role model and leader to them.” 

In the future, he hopes to play football in college and “hopefully go onto the next level after that.” He currently holds offers from Army, Ball State, Boston College, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Indiana, Kent State, Kentucky, Liberty, Navy, Purdue and Toledo. 

After dislocating his elbow in the second half of the Male game, Northington is out for at least two more games. He also plays basketball and runs track in the winter and spring. 

The Crimsons take on the St. Xavier Tigers this Friday in the district championship at St. X. Kickoff is set for 7:30.