When he’s not playing one of his three sports, doing homework or working for the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA), Wes-Del senior Grayson Mealy loves to play video games.
“I play sports games like Madden, [NBA] 2k, anything like that,” Mealy said. “And then I play Valorant.”
Though it was originally something he did with friends, playing video games turned into another school-related activity as he joined the Warriors’ esports team. The team has won the state championship the last two years in Valorant.
So, how does he find the time to do all of this? Mealy doesn’t fully know.
“It's a lot to balance, but I'd say just through playing sports, it's taught me how to balance time between everything I have going on,” he said.
While somehow completing all of these tasks, it’s the way he goes about handling them that has him viewed as a leader in his school and community.
“The dude can do a little bit of everything,” Wes-Del athletic director and head football coach Matt Nuckols said. “I don't think there's any kids in the building that don't know who he is, and they look up to him as kind of the guy leading this building.”
Mealy’s love of sports began at a young age. Throw in that his mom, Courtney, was a three-sport athlete – softball, basketball and volleyball at Blackford – and his father, Kyle, was a two-sport athlete – baseball and basketball at Blackford, Mealy was exposed to sports from infancy.
Naturally, Grayson started playing baseball and basketball when he learned how to walk. Once he was old enough to play tackle football, he took his talents to the gridiron. It quickly became his favorite sport.
“I feel like it's such a unique sport, and there’s such a team aspect to it that I've just always been drawn to it,” Grayson said.
Grayson has had success with every sport he plays for the Warriors. Last year, he led the Warriors on the diamond with two home runs and was third on the roster in hits (24).
On the court, however, Kyle believes his son cares more about who he’s playing with rather than his performance.
“[Grayson] plays basketball because he loves playing with those guys,” he said. “Basketball is where I see him as the ultimate teammate because no one's scouting against him in basketball… I love that sport because he fills in that [good teammate] role.”
When talking about Warrior athletes and the term leadership, Grayson’s name always comes up in the conversation.
“I think the biggest thing is his work ethic because there are not many guys out there that are built mentally like him,” Nuckols said. “He faces adversity and fights through it. He is one of, if not the, hardest workers in the weight room.”
According to Kyle, it’s an abundance of things that have molded his son to have that quality. The main three are Courtney, former Warriors’ head basketball coach; John McGlothin, who is said to be an uncle figure to Grayson; and Mealy’s 2022-23 baseball season.
“It's probably a moment that I don't think people would say or would be the moment they would think,” Kyle said.
Wes-Del was playing Cowan early in the season, a game to be decided in extra innings. Grayson was playing catcher and attempted to make a throw to third base.
The ball sailed into the outfield and the Blackhawks scored, which became the deciding run.
Kyle saw that his son was hurt, but then two seniors — Travis Bunch and Dawson Bookout — stepped up.
“Because of the way those seniors handled a sophomore who made a big error, the way that sophomore handled that and let those seniors lead him, is the reason why we won the regional and went to semi-state that year,” Kyle said.
Now, Grayson does that for the current Wes-Del underclassmen. He’s not the most vocal person, but his actions speak volumes.
“Grayson's really kind of taken that by the reins and taken these dudes to another level,” Nuckols said. “You talk to a ton of coaches about the best teams they've ever had, and it wasn't their coaches [who] had to push the kids, it was the players. And we got a bunch of guys doing that right now, and Grayson's leading that charge.”
Grayson’s leadership goes beyond Wes-Del as he also works for the IHSAA. Being nominated as a sophomore, he was appointed to the Student Advisory Committee with 17 other members. The groups work on multiple events, including state championships.
Though the school year started only a month ago, Grayson knows his high school experience will soon come to a close. While his future plans are still undecided, he still has the rest of football season — and the entire basketball and baseball seasons — to look forward to.
“It’s bittersweet. I'm looking forward to being one of the top seniors that pretty much run the school,” he said. “You create the school culture for that year. But obviously, there's some sadness there too because it's your last one.”
While he has months ahead of him before walking across a stage in the Warriors’ gym, he already knows he doesn’t want to be remembered for his athletic achievements and leadership.
He wants the community to think of what he and this year’s senior class did for the current Wes-Del culture.
“I'd rather them remember the culture that I wanted to create around here and be known as more of a sports school,” Grayson said. “With football, we've gone [to state?] every year we've been trying to progress our win. We have the ability to do the things we want to do. It just takes leadership and the people [who] are willing to do it.”
To Nuckols, Grayson has already put his name in stone when it comes to being that person.
“He's one of the faces of Wes-Del right now,” he said. “He's a brilliant student, he works his tail off in the classroom, and he is one of the smartest and hardest working kids we have.”
Contact Zach Carter via email zachary.carter@bsu.edu or on X via @ZachCarter85.
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