MORGANTOWN — Elise Sizick has grown up around Young Life most of her life and she’s seen the effect it’s had on students.
The group, a Christian-based nonprofit organization that targets students, has meant a lot to Sizick since she joined the middle school program, Wyldlife, as a sixth-grader in Elkins.
The Morgantown High senior has enjoyed building relationships with other teenagers.
“It brings me a lot of joy that they’re going to go to Heaven and be a part of a Christian life,” Sizick said. “It gives me a purpose to live a positive life and gives me hope and peace to know what I have, and I have the ability to share that with them.”
Sizick keeps busy with the Mohigans track team, running in the 100-meter dash, 4×100 relay, 4×200 relay and 102.5-meter hurdle relay. Even with a full schedule, she sets aside time for Young Life and the work she does with City Church, which meets at Trinity Christian School.
Sizick, along with her two brothers, were raised in a Christian family — her father, Heath, is the director of the college program with Mountaineer Area Young Life. The high school program reaches students in Monongalia, Marion and Taylor counties.
Originally from Canton, Ohio, the Sizicks moved to Elkins in 2010 and struggled with finding permanent housing for a while, which caused Elise to bounce from school to school and home to home before moving into their own house in Morgantown.
“She’s persevered through a lot,” Heath said. “We moved when she was a baby, and then again to West Virginia. Even when we moved here, we stayed at a friend’s house before we finally got our own house. She’s just been incredible with her perseverance.”
Heath considers Elise “the glue” of their family — “everything simply seems to be better when she’s around.”
But Heath never wanted her to feel pressured in being a part of Young Life just because he was a director. Everything she’s done to this point was her own free will, including spending last July in Saranac Lake, N.Y.
As part of a summer volunteer program called Work Crew, Elise worked 15-hour days at Young Life Camp’s dining hall without financial compensation. The intent is to help students become “better equipped to make choices about their future plans, education and career,” according to the group’s website.
“She did that on her own — she wanted to do it, went through the training and did a great job,” Heath said. “She grew a ton from that and came back a different kid. It caused a bunch of spiritual growth, outwardly, socially and even as a track athlete.”
On the track
Heath took Elise to small track events for kids in Canton when she was younger. He could tell that she had a quick twitch.
“I always thought she was fast,” he said.
Heath was Elise’s head coach at Elkins Middle and she seemed to perform well in the distance races. She also ran cross-country until her junior year of high school.
But when she went to MHS in 2017, Elise started running in the sprint and relay races. At the Charlie Pritt Classic last Thursday at Preston, she finished first in the 100-meter dash at 13.69. Her 4×100 team of Kelsey Riley, Justice Washington and Angela Ejimofor also finished first at 51.47, as did the 4×200 with Kaiciyare Taylor at 1:52.77.
“One of my favorite things as a dad is to watch her run,” Heath said. “She really likes the track program at Morgantown.”
There was potential to move on to run at the college level, especially as a distance runner, but Elise decided she’d rather stay home and go to WVU. One reason is two newer members of the family.
The Sizicks adopted a 6-year-old and 18-month-old, and Heath said the transition has been seamless.
“Elise has embraced those little girls and she loves them like they’re her biological sisters,” he said. “I think that may be one reason she wanted to stay at home.”
