If a college wants a shot at Allegany’s Avery Miller — who might end up as one of the most sought after athletes in Allegany County history — it should probably act fast.
It’s not hard to understand why. Thus far in her high school career, the junior has made the All-Area first team in all seven seasons she’s played in soccer, basketball and softball.
No athlete, male or female, has ever done that in all 12 seasons in their careers in this area’s history.
She most recently captured the 2023 girls soccer Area Player of the Year Award (which was leaked to Facebook a month early. Thanks to whoever did that) — Miller’s second year in a row winning the top soccer honor.
Miller set Allegany’s career goals record last year as a sophomore, besting Zayne Brakeall’s previous mark of 46 in half the time.
Her 27 goals broke Brakeall’s single-season record in leading Allegany to the state semifinals for the first time in school history. With 25 more this season to go along with eight assists, Miller is now up to 74 goals for her career.
On the hardwood, Miller led the area in assists (3.6), was second in scoring (18.7 points per game), second in rebounding (10.4) and second in steals (3.6) as a sophomore.
She entered this year with 748 points in two seasons and will likely top the 1,000-point threshold later this winter.
Last spring, Miller was fourth in area softball batting .541 and led the area scoring 2.4 runs per game. As a freshman, she hit .480 on a state-championship winning Allegany team (its first since 2010) — a squad that finished the season ranked No. 14 in the nation by MaxPreps.
That’s a career’s worth of achievements for most athletes, and we haven’t even gotten to Miller’s best sport.
At last spring’s state track and field championships, Miller won the 100 (12.39), 200 (25.40), 400 (57.77) and long jump (17’ 2.5”) to become the first girl to win four individual events in the Class 1A state championships since Catoctin’s Kathy Messner accomplished the feat in 1996.
She will enter her junior year with 74 consecutive event victories and six state titles in five different events. The all-time Maryland career record of 13 individual outdoor state championships is within reach.
Miller captured state titles in the long jump and 800-meter run as a freshman — the same day of Allegany’s softball championship conquest over nationally ranked Patterson Mill at the University of Maryland.
But titles don’t mean anything to colleges. They only care about distances and times on the track.
Right now, Miller’s personal best in the long jump (19’ 2”) would’ve placed 12th at the 2023 outdoor Atlantic Coast Conference Championships and 15th at the Southeastern Conference Championships.
Her PR times in the 100 (12.27), 200 (24.95) and 400 (56.97) all would’ve beaten runners in the ACC and SEC championships during the preliminary rounds.
And these are the top times of a high school sophomore.
It’s not hard, then, to understand why Miller has drawn interest from Duke, West Virginia, Navy, Ole Miss, Missouri, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Penn State for track and field.
Her athleticism across a variety of disciplines — painfully obvious to even the most casual observer of this area’s soccer, basketball and softball games these past two-plus years — has North Carolina and SEC schools wanting her to transition to the heptathlon in college (100-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash, 800-meter run, long jump, high jump, shot put, javelin).
Pittsburgh and Syracuse have expressed interest in soccer, with Pitt wanting to see an Allegany game in person next fall.
Robert Morris is interested in basketball, Duquesne wants her in two sports, soccer and track, and so too does Binghamton in basketball and track.
Athleticism runs in the Miller family. Avery’s uncle, Brett Miller, won football Player of the Year in 1992 as the quarterback at Allegany. He played tight end on the 1991 football state title team and was also a member of the state championship-winning basketball team in 1992-93.
Avery’s father, Brian Miller, was an All-Area tight end and kick returner at Allegany on the 1988 football state championship team and was an outfielder for the 1989 baseball state title-winning team.
There is a hesitation sometimes to praise the same student athletes time and time again, but Avery Miller has thrown that out the window.
She’s that dominant, and when it’s all said and done, she might just end up as the greatest athlete in Allegany County history — not just the greatest “girls” athlete.
Let’s be thankful she was born in Western Maryland. We are witnessing greatness, and she’ll be gone before we know it.
The same could be said to colleges recruiting her. Act now, or you just might see her competing for championships at a rival school.