By Derrick Smith

There are people that come into each of our lives that can make a big impact on our future. These can be celebrities or professional athletes, or they could be someone else. Alexander Pebeahsy says that he has a couple of family members that he looks up to.
“My two older cousins, Andre and Maleek Houze were influences for me as a basketball player,” he said. “I watched them since I was seven and I always wanted to be like them or even better. And my dad was an influence on cross country. He is Herbert Pebeahsy and he was a former state champion 1997, 1998, 1999 for Hydro Schools.

Alexander is a sophomore at Anadarko High School. He runs cross country, track, and also plays basketball. He has been a part of both sports for quite a while, he has played basketball for seven years and running for six years.
Becoming the all-around athlete that he is has required a lot from Alexander, but he knows the work will be worth it.
“It has taken a lot of time of running on my own and running even though I’m tired or sore,” he said. But I wake up and run to make me feel good about my self and help me achieve my goal. I am working hard to make it to state and get top ten or even win.”
He has also enjoyed a lot of great moments throughout his career but Alexander says that there is one achievement that stands out.
“My biggest highlight was probably when I placed top-five at state in my eighth-grade year.”
In the classroom, Alexander has learned from a number of different teachers but says that there is one that stands out as his favorite.
“My favorite teacher is Mr. Heilman,” he said. “He was my art teacher and he taught me to be creative and he was funny, smart and, caring to others.”