Manasco named FCT Scholar-Athlete of the Week

By Staff
Kim West
VINA – Ryan Manasco might be best described as a jack-of-all-trades.
"He's a well-mannered young man who does a lot of community service and church activities, and he's a good student," said Vina athletic director and football coach Bill Smith. "One the football field, he's really dedicated and a good guy to be around. He's the kind of player you want to coach."
Manasco, 18, recently graduated from Vina High School as the No. 3 senior with a 3.73 GPA. He also helped the school's math team place second in the county tournament and was a member of the V-Club and Leo Club.
Manasco was a three-sport athlete for four years in baseball, track and football and also found time to become certified by the Franklin County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
"I chose to take the CERT course because I wanted to learn what to do in case of an emergency and how to help people in that kind of situation," said Manasco, who was recognized last fall for providing roadside assistance to a visitor to the school last fall. "There were several other high school students who also completed the training."
Manasco called math his best subject and Vina math instructor Paul Humphres his favorite teacher.
"I never had Coach Humphres as my coach, but I liked being in his math and pre-cal classes because I've known him pretty much all my life and he made his class fun instead of doing the normal, boring stuff," said Manasco, who named class valedictorian Heather Holland as his funniest classmate. "She might not talk much at first, but once you get to know her, you can hardly get her to be quiet."
This fall, he will attend the University of North Alabama after earning a UNA leadership scholarship and the Matt Hester Memorial Scholarship.
"I'm going to major in CIS at UNA because there are a lot of government jobs open in that field right now and I enjoy fixing computers," he said.
To relax, Manasco enjoys a variety of activities.
"I like to play golf quite a bit, but I'm not very good. My favorite course is probably at Twin Pines," he said. "I like listening to country music and I enjoy hunting and fishing."
Manasco is the son of Russell and Diane Manasco.