Girl-Next-Door Exterior
Hides ‘Super Competitor’
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You may do a double take when Henry Clay High’s Pilar Morgan describes herself as “super competitive.”

That’s because the 17-year-old senior with the wholesome girl-next-door looks makes the announcement with a cheerful smile more befitting a church volunteer than a cutthroat competitor.

Then again, she is a church volunteer. During the holiday season, Pilar helps with St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s St. Nicholas Ball, a day-long event for children with special needs.

“It’s a lot of fun to work with all the people,” Pilar says. “To see the kids and how happy they are, it’s very gratifying.”

Pilar derives similar satisfaction through her work with the DARE program in which she visits elementary school children and counsels them on peer pressure issues while answering questions about high school life.

(Boys wonder about bullies, asking questions such as “Is there a freshman beat-up day? Girls focus on love. “Are the boys cuter in high school?”)

Pilar is a straight-A student with a 4.6 weighted GPA and is taking an English class for college credit.

She’s also loading up for her career path in physical therapy. She is taking human anatomy and interns with physical therapy clinics throughout the city.

She prepped for those assignments as an intern with the school athletic trainer, working with the baseball, softball, track and tennis teams.

Okay, so where’s the “super competitive” gal lurking within this top-student, church-volunteer, athlete- assisting paragon?
You have to turn to basketball and golf to find the eye of the tiger.
This winter, Pilar begins her sixth season in the Henry Clay basketball program.

A player since she was 5, Pilar excelled in youth leagues, playing shooting guard for the AAU Central Kentucky Angels.

As a 12-year-old, she led the Angels to the state AAU title, scoring 28 points in the championship game with seven three-pointers.

At Henry Clay as point guard, she played on the regional champions as a sophomore, advancing to the state tournament in Bowling Green.

But golf is Pilar’s top sport. She has led Henry Clay to three straight City high school titles, winning the individual title three times running, including last year’s round of 73 at Tates Creek golf course.
This summer, she was the top female on the Larry Gilbert junior tour and clinched the City Junior championship in June, shooting a 73 at Lakeside.

That figures... she works part-time at the course.
Pilar’s horizons are not limited to Lakeside. A year ago, through the First Tee program, Pilar was one of 18 female juniors selected to play with senior PGA professionals at the famed Pebble Beach golf course on the California coast.

Pilar was dazzled by the players as much as the picturesque course after playing a practice round with two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw.

“He is the nicest guy and offered me tips,” she says.
“And I played a round with D.A. Weibring, who was so laid-back and down to earth and easy to talk to. He also gave me pointers.”
Already a three-time City high school champion and getting first-hand tips from the pros… you almost start to feel sorry for Pilar’s opponents.