Glen Burnie High two-sport athlete Wynter Radcliffe hadn’t even started her senior year of high school before she became an essential employee. Radcliffe worked seven days a week throughout the spring and summer at the Brightview Severna Park senior living home as a dining server. With nursing homes being one of the COVID-19 pandemic hot spots, Radcliffe certainly worried at times.
“I was hesitant about going to work,” Radcliffe says. “But then nobody would work, and residents wouldn’t get the stuff they needed. I put residents first.”
Now, Radcliffe still works four to five days a week. She landed the job after a good friend and softball teammate Lilly Cook encouraged her to apply. The two frequently work together.
“I was interested in the hospitality type of thing,” says Radcliffe, who has worked at the senior living home since October of 2019. “The enjoyment and the relationships with the residents are what I get out of it. That’s all that matters. Not the money I make.”
The 17-year is juggling a hectic schedule. Along with her job, it includes softball, volleyball, playing club sports in both, and tutoring fellow students. She also belongs to the National Science Honor Society and the Foster Life Improvement Club while taking a challenging course load.
“She does so much inside and outside of school,” Glen Burnie Athletic Director Kyle Hines says. “She is just so humble. Looking beyond the sports, she won’t talk about the other things. She is so unassuming and it goes back to her character. She is someone you root for her.”
Softball is the sport she will play after high school. The 5-foot-8-inch Radcliffe is being aggressively recruited by three Division II schools, including two in North Carolina and one in Maryland. The interest from those schools could land her an athletic scholarship.
“I think she could have a really good college career,” Glen Burnie Softball Coach Dave Sauble says. “I think she will get more interest from colleges this coming year. I think she could play at a smaller Division I school like UMBC or Towson. She pitches and hits well.”
Radcliffe guided Glen Burnie in 2019 to a 19-4 record and the Class 4A state championship game, where the Gophers lost to Sherwood by one run. To get to the final, she struck out 13 batters in a 3-1 victory over Whitman in a semifinal.
She finished the season with 147 strikeouts and a 1.35 ERA. Radcliffe threw three no-hitters and one one-hitter.
“She has a lot of pitches and she is really smart with them,” Sauble says. “She really knows how to pitch. She has a great memory for batters and situations—when you throw this and that.”
She dominates at the plate as well, batting .380 as a sophomore with six doubles, a triple, and five home runs. Radcliffe has developed her skills increasingly over the years while competing on high-level club softball teams. She has played club ball for nine years, including recent stints with the Maryland Heat and the Anne Arundel Softball Club.
“She is left-handed and causes a lot of problems for other teams,” Maryland Heat Coach Jason Deitz says. “She just keeps growing and growing as a player. She is turning a lot of heads in terms of colleges.”
After playing two years on the junior varsity volleyball team, Radcliffe joined the varsity in her junior year. And she was more than just a participant. Radcliffe earned most improved player honors and ranked among the team leaders in kills. She also plays club for the Lady Aces Volleyball Academy.
Glen Burnie Volleyball Coach Jordan Gibson raved about Radcliffe’s tremendous work ethic and her ability to play just about any position on the court. “She was definitely a key player for us,” Gibson says. “She excels at passing. She is a very versatile player. She is a very strong athlete and takes sports very seriously. She wants to win at all costs. She is one of a kind.”
