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Sports

Centreville Grad Wins National Competition and $5,000 Scholarship

Student-athlete created an interactive flip book showing why she loves lacrosse.

Name: Kristina (Kristy) McKain 

Age: 18 

School:

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Accomplishment: This rising college freshman won a $5,000 scholarship from Flip.com, a former sister site of TeenVogue.com. Flip.com’s Why Do You Play? scholarship competition required applicants to create an interactive flip book depicting their love of a given sport. 

Key to Awesomeness: Recent Kristy McKain first became interested in the sport of lacrosse when she was in second grade, sold on the fact that she’d get to wear a skirt while playing. 

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McKain soon developed a love for lacrosse and played for CVHS through her junior year. She also served as a team captain when she was just a sophomore and earned the Virginia State Scholar Athlete award each year she competed. 

Kristy embraces the game of lacrosse itself more than she does the competitiveness of the sport. “I really enjoy and focus on getting the team pumped up together,” McKain said, “Although I’m not one of the stronger players, I definitely have one of the stronger attitudes and I’m a huge team player.”

During her sophomore year, Kristy had the opportunity to show what lacrosse meant to her through the interactive flip book she created for the Why Do You Play? competition. Her artistic compilation of photos, text, and music won the judges over and she was awarded $5,000 to be put toward her college tuition. 

“I was shocked to win,” McKain said, “I actually forgot about the scholarship for a while and I never told my parents that I entered. When I got the email [that] I had won, my parents thought it was a scam because we were so surprised.” 

Kristy opted not to play lacrosse during her final year at CVHS, but helped out for an SYA team instead. She graduated a well-rounded high school athlete, having been a member of the field hockey and cross country teams and serving as a captain on the track team her senior year.

Kristy will attend Virginia Tech in the fall, where she plans to study communications or international relations. 

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