Independence High’s Maya Love is The Observer’s girls’ athlete of the year
Independence High’s Maya Love, The Observer’s girls’ athlete of the year, is shy.
Like really, really shy.
“Like, when I get with my friends, people see me as outgoing,” she said. “But not knowing anybody, or if there’s cameras, I am really shy. I don’t like interviews. People are like, ‘How do you run track and you don’t like interviews?’”
Love better get used to doing lots of them.
As a junior in the 2023-24 school year, Love won NCHSAA 4A state championships in the 200- and the 400-meters outdoors after finishing runner-up in two state finals indoors.
This season, Love won three indoor state titles — in the 55-meters, the 300-meters and on the 800-meter relay team. She was named MVP of the 4A championships.
And in May, Love was just as dominant outdoors, winning the 100- and 200-meter titles and running on the championship 400-meter relay team.
If you’re counting at home, that’s six state titles in the past five months and eight overall.
Love — named The Observer’s girls’ track athlete of the year earlier this month — said she didn’t lose a race in N.C. all season.
“Everybody is gunning for me,” she said. “I know every time I step on the track, there’s somebody that wants to get me, just coming from last year winning the (200- and 400-meters outdoors). So I’m got to step it up all the time.”
Love will run in college at South Carolina next season, after choosing the Gamecocks over Tennessee.
South Carolina has produced dozens of Olympic athletes in the past 25 years and is coached by Tim Hall, who came to South Carolina two years ago from Kentucky. Hall has coached five Olympians, including a gold medal winner, and 11 NCAA champions.
Shy or not, Love wants to be next in line.
Not bad for a young lady who almost chose a different sport.
“I swam before I ran track,” Love said. “I guess I was just tired of swimming and I told my friends I wanted to run.”
Love didn’t know if she was good or not, at least at first. But she made the Junior Olympics her first year running. She stopped swimming a year later, at age 11.
“I think that was a good decision,” she said.
This story was originally published June 25, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
