HUDSON FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Peyton Smith excels on the basketball court, but his success reaches far beyond the gym. The senior participated in five sports during his time in high school, while also going above and beyond in the classroom.

“It’s very important to leave almost, like, a stamp on your school,” said Smith. “It is a small community, everybody knows each other. It’s very important to have an impact.”

Senior Peyton Smith certainly has made his impact on Hudson Falls. Outside of his primary sport of basketball, Smith kicked for the football team, played baseball and golf, and spent a season on the swim team. “Every sport is a different exercise, a different thing to do,” said Smith. “It’s not just about the physical things. You make new friends. I try to be balanced and do every sport I can because I feel like you’re missing out if you don’t try and do every sport and you just limit yourself to one.”

Peyton’s accomplishments aren’t limited to athletics. He was a NYSPHSAA scholar athlete all four years, and will graduate with honors in June. “My parents, my teachers always pushed me to excel in the classroom,” said Smith. “Thankfully, it came pretty easy to me.”

But Peyton feels most at home on the basketball court. He’s a two-time Foothills League MVP, an All-State selection, and a 1,000 point scorer; one of only six in Hudson Falls history. “It was a goal of mine, when I was really little, to score 1,000 points just like my mom did,” said Smith.

His mom helped in his drive to 1,000, but he’s learned plenty from his father Greg Smith, who doubles as his head coach in basketball. “It’s been humbling that he’s had a successful career,” said Greg Smith. “Being able to see it first-hand, teaching at the school and also on the sideline as his coach, it’s been a tremendous experience.”

Peyton will head to Loomis Chaffee in Connecticut in the fall for a postgraduate year. While it might be hard to believe for Section 2 basketball fans, they’ll be getting an even better version of Peyton Smith, as he aims to score a chance to play high level collegiate basketball. “Definitely a more refined version of Peyton Smith from senior year of high school,” said Smith. “I’ve been working a lot this off-season in conditioning and more guard skills. I don’t want to look back in a few years and say, ‘Oh I could have done this, or I could have done that.’ I want to take each day by day and just work hard every single day.”