Eupora’s Delta Claire Newman was recently selected as a finalist for the Wendy’s High School Heisman and will attend the state banquet on April 19 at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in Jackson.
Newman is a standout softball player for Eupora in both fast-pitch and slow-pitch. She was selected to play in the Mississippi Association of Coaches Fast-pitch All-Star game and was also selected to play on the Under Armour national team.
Founded by owner Dave Thomas, Wendy’s has honored more than 600,000 of the nation’s most esteemed high school seniors who share Wendy’s values of giving back to their communities, treating people with respect, continuing education, and excelling on the athletic field.
Student athletes are nominated and finalists are chosen for a state banquet. A boy and girl will be chosen from each state. From the state winners, a group of national finalists will be chosen and two athletes will be at the national award winners. Scholarships are awarded to national winners, national finalists and state winners.
Newman has a 4.0 GPA while also taking dual enrollment classes. She has previously been chosen as the Webster County Student of the Month and the Rotary Club Student of the Month. Newman is active in her community, participating in Operation Christmas Child, Puppets for Pediatric Patients and Relay for Life.
She plans on attending East Mississippi Community College where she will both study nursing and play softball.
Eupora softball coach Amir Hunt had nothing but praise for Newman.
“Being a straight-A student and a really good softball player, she's the true definition of a student-athlete,” Hunt said. “She’s a leader on the team who the younger girls look up to, and she’s always willing to do whatever it takes to help them along the way. Her level of maturity and level of responsibility aren’t typical of most teenage kids today.
“As her coach and math teacher, she’s given me many reasons to be proud of her.”
Newman said her greatest role model was former coach Kaley Harris.
“She was my softball coach from seventh grade until my junior year,” Newman said. “She pushed us to be our very best and worked herself as hard as she did us. She expected a lot from us, but I always knew how much she loved us and would always be there for us.”
