Jessica Bailey began distance running only several years ago, and was not very successful initially. But she was persistent, and her improvement has spawned a love for running, turning her emerging success into a cross country scholarship at Salem College, where the current Polk County High School senior will be this fall.

“She’s come as far as anyone I’ve ever had,” said veteran PCHS cross country and track and field coach, Alan Peoples.

Bailey has come so far that she’ll be running for the Spirits on a scholarship. On Wednesday, May 25, she signed her intent to attend Salem and run there. Salem College is located in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Though Bailey began running for the Wolverines in her freshman year, “I didn’t like it until my junior year, when my times got better,” she said.

Bailey, who will be studying biology and pre-med, was drawn to Salem because it is part of a small community and for the campus as a whole.

Peoples remarked of Bailey, “She’s not physically strong, but she never quit. In college, she will get faster.”