We are proud to announce team captain Chase Bell and Mat Maid Rylee Gearhart as the 2024 Reynolds Wrestling Legacy Club Scholarship recipients! Chase became the fourth awardee of the Neal Lineman Scholarship. Rylee is the second recipient of the Brian Hills Scholarship and the first girl to receive one of our scholarships.
The winners were announced in the annual Wrestling Boosters’ banquet this past weekend. And they will be recognized in front of their classmates during the annual Senior Awards day at the end of the school year. The Legacy Club has now awarded $20,000 to six students in our short four years of offering scholarships!
We wish these two, as well as all the graduating seniors, continued success with this next phase of their life. Please read on to see why Chase and Rylee are excellent choices for winning these prestigious awards.
Chase Bell – Neal Lineman Scholarship
Chase was a four-year stalwart on the varsity team, earning a 119-51 record with 60 falls. His potential was evident from the very first match he wrestled as a freshman when he dropped a one-point decision to a state place winner. At the end of his inaugural season, he won a key major decision against a ranked wrestler as he helped the incredible Raider comeback victory in the state finals against Southern Columbia.
Chase went on to earn four trips to the state championship tournaments and earned All-State honors in his Junior (8th) and Senior (3rd) seasons. Chase’s runup to the 3rd place finish was an outstanding performance with his only loss being to a world champion. He was a four-time finalist in sections and districts, winning the former two times and the latter once. Chase was also a three-time region finalist.
He is an excellent student as well, earning a 3.8 GPA and was recently named to the 2nd team All State Academic team. Chase has committed to attending Frostburg State University next year to begin studies in Engineering and continue his wrestling career.
Coach Casey Tayler had great praise for Chase: “Chase was a leader by example from the moment he entered High School. He never backed down from a challenge and helped his team win a State Title as a freshman and then lead his team to a podium finish this year when none of our competitors believed it was possible. Chase always displayed great sportsmanship and will be a great asset at Frostburg. We will be cheering him on and he will be missed at Reynolds for sure”.
Rylee Gearhart – Brian Hills Scholarship
In winning the prestigious Brian Hills Scholarship, Rylee becomes the first ever girl to earn a Legacy Club award. She was an integral member of the Raider Mat Maids. Any coach can tell you, a successful program must have an excellent group of team managers.
Everyone, without exception, emphasizes Rylee’s leadership skills. She was a team captain of the traveling Softball team all four years and the varsity Volleyball team for three years. Rylee was voted as the CEO of her entrepreneurship class.
Along with Softball, Volleyball and Wrestling, Rylee was active with a role as an Office Aid, Peer Leader and the Outdoor Sports/Hunting Fishing Club.
Rylee is another excellent student as she will matriculate at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh this fall where she will begin training in the difficult Pharmacy School.
Coach Taylor puts an exclamation point on Rylee’s contributions in saying, “Rylee is a terrific young lady that has provided the team with a tremendous amount of help with statistics keeping, organization, and team support. Basically, we look at the young ladies that help as an extension of the staff. They are at every team activity and know the way we conduct practice and what our expectations are. Rylee was a very important part of that, and we wish her the best in all her future endeavors”.