Brownwood High School Senior and Lady Lions softball player Alyson Finnigan signed a letter of intent with the University of Arkansas at Monticello on Wednesday afternoon.
Finnigan will be a part of both the Cotton Blossom softball and cross country teams. She stated that she chose the university because of the team’s coaching and its Christian values.“They had a Christian based team with a youth minister being in charge of their cross country team,” said Finnigan. “I’ll be running cross country too, so that was important. It also has a ‘hometown’ feel.”
Finnigan plans to study nursing and become an RN possibly specializing in pediatrics. Because she excelled in academics at Brownwood High School, Finnigan received a full tuition scholarship. With her commitment to play softball and run cross country, the remaining room and board will be covered as well and Finnigan will have a full ride at UA at Monticello.
Although the university is quite a distance from home, her parents Doug and Lisa Finnigan are excited for Alyson to have such an opportunity.
“It is beautiful out there,” said Mr. Finnigan. “We’ll be making a lot of trips there for the games.”
Her mother stated that she is proud of what Alyson has accomplished.
“She’s worked hard for a lot of years to get to this point, ever since she was in tee ball.” said Mrs. Finnigan.
Her cross country coach, Don Hood, stated that he was very proud for Alyson and has appreciated her teamwork as a Lady Lion.
“It’s a great day for her because she is really sold on not just the school but also the people at the school,” said Hood. “What impressed me is the quality of the coaches and the things that they are involved in, their priorities are what they should are supposed to be. So I think she is going to have a great softball career there.”
Hood spoke about Finnigan’s role as a Lady Lion and what she has meant to the team and her coaches.
“What I like about her the most is that she, I don’t know if you can say it any more properly, but she is the ultimate team player. She has endured some things that weren’t the way she wanted them to be with nothing but a positive attitude. She has accepted positions and roles to play that weren’t exactly what she wanted to do but she did them anyway, just the way you want a Lady Lion to do. And that is rare,” stated Coach Hood. “We are going to miss her. She participates every season, cross country, basketball and softball. She does everything she can to make our program better; I wish we had about a hundred more of her.”
Pictured are Alyson Finnigan and her parents Doug and Lisa Finnigan.
