Burnet runner Asah Roy signs with Harding University

CAPTION: Burnet senior runner Asah Roy (seated, center) signs her National Letter of Intent to compete for Harding University as her dad Jay-Paul (seated, left), mom Kari (seated, right) and family members Stratton (standing, left), Judson baby Ivy and Hattie Roy look on. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography

Burnet High School senior middle-distance runner Asah Roy signed her National Letter of Intent to compete for Harding University during a signing ceremony Nov. 12.

“I picked Harding because I just really loved the environment,” she said. “When I first went there, I could just tell. I visited a few other schools, and Harding like felt like home right when I walked in there. And all the people were just so like welcoming and nice. And it’s very Christ-centered, and I feel like that’s what I was looking for the most. So I just felt really comfortable there and everybody was really nice.”

It’s been a long and sometimes painful journey for Roy to reach this milestone.

She began running middle distances when she entered the Project Graduation Zombie Race as an eighth-grader and won. That race began her love affair with the sport.

But it hasn’t always loved her back in quite the same way. She noted that she suffered stress fractures three years in a row. The one in 2023 was especially painful, both physically and emotionally. At the Class 4A Region III meet, she was in third place with 300 meters to go when she passed out because of the pain.

As a result, she had only competed in one state meet, the Class 4A state track and field meet in May 2023.

So coming into her senior year, Roy dedicated herself to do everything she could to prevent from becoming injured. That meant cross training on her own once a week for at least 45 minutes. She alternated between getting in the pool for aqua jogging and getting on the elliptical. She credits former teammate Hudson Bennett, who recently competed at the NCAA South Central Regional meet in Fayetteville, Ark.

“I focus on cross-training and just doing stuff to help my shin get better and strengthen it,” Roy said. “I think that definitely played a role. It helped me get faster. I think it definitely got to my head cause most of my races, I could feel the pain the whole time. And so that definitely played a factor in my speed and how fast I was going. I think I got really down on myself a few times because of it. But this season definitely helped me mentally cause I was perfect. My shins didn’t hurt at all this season. So that was a good thing.”

She felt so good in fact that her season ended at the Class 4A cross country state meet Nov. 1 where she finished 39th on the two-mile course in 12 minutes and 12.5 seconds after finishing 10th at the regional meet in 12:31.10 and as the silver medalist at the District 24-4A meet in 12:13.13.

Roy smiled as she recalled the feelings she had when she stepped to the starting line at the state.

“I was very happy to be there, just cause I haven’t,” she said. “I wasn’t able to be there the other years. My goal was definitely (set a new personal record) and just do the best I could knowing it was my last race of high school. So that was just my main thing. I just wanted to try to do the best that I could, and I was happy to be there.”

Burnet cross country head coach Simon Hairston he was happy to see Roy continue to compete on the next level.

“We’re just so blessed to be able to have her go and run at the next level,” he said. “I felt like her performance (at the state meet) was really good. I’m grateful for Asah and her performance. I thought she did a wonderful job, and I really couldn’t have asked for anything more for her.” 

The daughter of Kari and Jay-Paul Roy said she has “flipped my mind so many times” when it comes to deciding on a major, though it sounds like it’ll be in the medical field.

But what she is sure about is who she credits for getting her to this part of her life – her parents, family, friends and God.

“Whenever I run, I definitely give glory to God for it,” she said. “I have goals for myself. But my main thing is glorifying God through everything.”