Frewsburg’s Elayna Pitts is the 2025 Frank Hyde Memorial Scholarship recipient. OBSERVER file photo

Perseverance.

Determination.

The value of teamwork.

All three are required prerequisites for any successful athlete.

For Elayna Pitts, though, those qualities have taught her life lessons that extend far beyond her successes in the pool, on the track or at a gymnastics meet.

“Sports have helped to shape the person I am today,” she said, “and have given me traits that I will use in my lifetime and job.”

Judging from her resume, the recent Frewsburg Central School graduate has been applying those traits for quite some time.

Noted John Crawford, the coach of the Buffalo Blizzard Diving Club: “In all scenarios and settings, Elayna has met my expectations and gone beyond. She has an immense ability to summon her best effort.

“Her work habits don’t just manifest themselves in the sport of diving,” Crawford added. “They are displayed in all other dimensions of Elayna’s life.”

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Elayna’s talents in athletics and in the classroom have been on display at Frewsburg for years.

Frank Hyde would have appreciated those efforts.

The Post-Journal sports editor from 1945-79, Hyde valued young people for their character, their achievement in academics and sports, their leadership, and their school and community involvement.

Elayna checks all the boxes.

For that reason, she is this year’s recipient of the 41st annual Frank Hyde Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to the outstanding college-bound athlete, male or female, from The Post-Journal/OBSERVER’s circulation areas in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties.

Elayna’s high school athletic career includes membership on the Bears’ swim team, highlighted by a 13th-place finish in one-meter diving at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championships last November.

“This accomplishment is more remarkable when one considers that she does not have an everyday coach and only attends our club practices two days a week,” Crawford said. “Her accomplishments and skills are a testament to her work ethic and her ability as an independent learner.”

Also a standout in track and field and competitive gymnastics, Elayna demonstrated her all-around talents in the classroom and in extra-curricular activities, too. The valedictorian of her senior class, Elayna was the class co-president; president of the Frewsburg Student Council and co-president of the National Honor Society.

“She manages those responsibilities and thrives as both a leader and a role model in these positions,” said Lindsay Marzec, Frewsburg’s English Department chairperson.

Elayna will attend Hamilton College this fall where she will pursue a degree in neuroscience with plans to ultimately attend medical school.

“My career choice was influenced by a major life event,” she said. “Around six years ago, I faced a challenge that would alter my life forever,” she said. “I was slowly losing my grandmother, a very influential person in my life, to a long battle with cancer.

” … Though this time was terrible for her and my family, I realized that I wanted to be the one to help people through difficult situations such as what we were facing,” Elayna added. “Through watching how cancer works and affects a person and their families, I realized that I wanted to assist people as much as I could in my life.”

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Elayna joins an accomplished list of Hyde Memorial Scholarship recipients. Past winners include: 1985, Steve Penhollow, Cassadaga Valley; 1986, Rich Crane, Sherman; 1987, Nancy Dornsife, Randolph; 1988, Mary Mansfield, Pine Valley; 1989, Jackson Rohm, Southwestern; 1990, Pam Crowell, Pine Valley; 1991, Cory Emory, Sherman; 1992, Ken Davenport, Falconer; 1993, Jennifer Tate, Falconer; 1994, Justin Johnson, Jamestown; 1995, Andy McMaster, Jamestown; 1996, Patrick Swanson, Sherman; 1997, Adam Beckerink, Frewsburg; 1998, Matthew Baideme, Westfield; 1999, Leigh Baumgart, Falconer; 2000, Craig Swanson, Jamestown; 2001, Trevor Cable, Frewsburg; 2002, Kathy Baum, Ripley; 2003, Ashley Kulju, Maple Grove; 2004, Rob Prinzi, Jamestown; 2005, Matt Mazgaj, Southwestern; 2006, Natalie Thorpe, Southwestern; 2007, Michael McGinnis, Falconer; 2008, Nicole Frederickson, Jamestown; 2009, Jennifer Andrews, Randolph; 2010, Mallory Deuink, Clymer; 2011, Joey Campion, Jamestown; 2012, Shannon Murphy, Falconer; 2013, Zachary Eklum, Jamestown; 2014, Jordan Powers, Southwestern; 2015, Zack Panebianco, Jamestown; 2016, Matthew Marsh, Jamestown; 2017, Wyatt Perry, Southwestern; 2018, Giuseppe Hoose, Southwestern; 2019, Allison Stockwell, Jamestown; 2020, Samantha Gilbert, Falconer; 2021, Cassidy Allen, Southwestern; 2022, Darien Swanson, Westfield; 2023, Brayden Hayes, Sherman; and 2024, Reece Beaver, Southwestern.

“What sets Elayna apart is not just the impressive list of achievements, but the genuine heart behind every endeavor,” said Sarah Olson, Robert H. Jackson Elementary School principal. “Whether on the field, in the classroom, or out in the community, she leads by example, uplifts those around her and represents the very values that the Frank Hyde Memorial Scholarship seeks to honor.”