The Exception
Every so often, a teenager comes along who reminds you just how much is possible. Addison Girley is that kind of teenager.
A senior at Arkansas High School, Addison’s list of achievements reads as if it belongs to an entire graduating class rather than one person. She is a varsity starter in volleyball and basketball and earned 5A South All-Conference honors in both, along with Academic All-State recognition. She is also a back-to-back state wrestling champion, a state champion discus thrower, a three-time National Cheerleaders Association All-American cheerleader, and the 2025 Miss Arkansas High. Addison also serves in the Army National Guard as a combat engineer. And that is before you get to her community service, national honor societies, and the college scholarships awaiting her in Jonesboro at Arkansas State University. But a list only tells you what someone has done. It does not tell you who they are.
Addison is the daughter of Kortina Davis, a former college volleyball and basketball player who had her own hopes for the path her daughter might take. “As a mom, I wanted my daughter to follow in my footsteps,” Kortina said. She has far exceeded her mother’s expectations.
Addison worked her way into starting roles on the varsity volleyball and basketball teams and earned all-conference recognition in both. She maintained the GPA required for Academic All-State and kept showing up, kept adding, and kept raising her hand for the next thing. Then, in the fall of 2024, she wandered into the first home wrestling duel of the season at Arkansas High, and something sparked in her.
“When I walked into the gym that first day, I was immediately drawn to the process,” Addison said. “I loved the way they warmed up, and you could sense the chemistry they had as a team.” The coaches’ confidence in their athletes, the culture they had built—it was all the invitation she needed. She stepped onto the mat and never looked back.
For Kortina, watching her daughter wrestle for the first time was something else entirely. “I was a ball of emotion,” she said. “It was both extremely exhilarating and nerve-wracking. I found myself crying and cheering at the same time. My main concern was that she didn’t get hurt and that her face didn’t get scratched.” Thankfully, her face stayed intact, and so did her winning streak. Addison claimed back-to-back regional and state championship titles for Arkansas High.
While she was collecting wrestling hardware, Addison was also putting in work as a discus thrower in track and field. She had fallen short of a state title her sophomore year and spent the offseason making deliberate, measurable improvements. It paid off. She won at the state meet and earned an invitation to the Arkansas Meet of Champions at Harding University in Searcy, a prestigious event that brings together the top athletes from every classification across the state.
She went in with a personal best of 132 feet. On her final throw of the day, she let the discus fly and watched it land at 144 feet 5 inches. It was good enough to win. What happened next is the kind of thing you would not believe if you had not been there to see it. Leaving the meet, a stranger called out for Addison. He told her he had just seen her compete, and he was going to call Coach Kraft at Arkansas State University. Kortina was skeptical because they did not know this man and knew little about Arkansas State. However, “by the time we made it to Little Rock from Searcy, Coach Kraft was already on the phone with Addison,” Kortina said. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Addison’s reach extends well beyond athletic fields. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Health Occupations Students of America, Future Business Leaders of America, the Arkansas High School Student Council, and the Army National Guard. She is a Las Amigas Debutante and a proud member of Top Teens of America and the SWORD and SHIELD Organization. She has volunteered at local homeless shelters, led voter registration drives, coordinated meal donations, and contributed to community beautification efforts throughout Texarkana. She earned the community service learning credit offered through both the Texarkana Arkansas School District and the state of Arkansas.
Addison is also one of Arkansas High’s Collegiate Academy students through the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana, adding another layer to her academic record.
She has committed to Arkansas State University, where she will compete as a discus thrower for the Red Wolves. Her vision for the future is as layered as everything else about her. She wants to become a radiologist, build real wealth, and have a family of her own, and a bakery or small business somewhere in the mix would not surprise anyone who knows her.
