Student Achiever: Lord Botetourt’s Ashton Harper

ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — Ashton Harper grew up around two things: golf and the Virginia Tech Hokies. The Lord Botetourt senior centered his life on those two passions and now he’s about to combine them into one after a high school career to remember.

“I’m very highly focused when I go out. Very analytical-minded. I really think about numbers a lot,” Harper said. “Step by step through every shot.”

Harper has taken hundreds, if not thousands of shots, at the Roanoke Country Club, perfecting his game with every swing.

“My dad gave me my first club when I could walk so it’s always been around me but probably 10 years old I really got into it,” Harper said. “Started playing in some bigger tournaments and it really grew on me, getting into high school when I really put my head down and started to practice a lot more and wanted to reach my goals.”

Those goals included playing at the state tournament, which is something Harper has done all four years at Lord Botetourt high school. He won the Class 3 VHSL state title in his junior year before helping his team finish as state runners-up last October.

“Winning states was definitely one of my goals being in high school and I was fortunate enough to do it and it went by quite a bit so it was a lot of fun,” Harper said.

His accomplishments caught the eyes of the coaching staff at Virginia Tech, a school that Harper loved just as much as he enjoys golf. It took one visit to realize he found his future home.

“Ever since I was a kid, I was always watching Hokie football, Hokie basketball,” Harper said. “But it really grew once I visited during the summer and I was just able to see the atmosphere and what everybody is around there.”

Harper made his verbal commitment to become a Hokie last summer.

“I always wanted to play at the college level definitely. So happy to play at Virginia Tech. Just a great atmosphere around there and just being able to play at the best level I could,” Harper said. “I’ve been looking forward to it since I committed. I can’t wait. I know it’s going to be different but I’m ready for it.”