Class of 2015 College Signings

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Class of 2015 College Signings

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Tue Nov 11, 2014 9:30 pm

http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/n ... hio-state/

North Royalton pole vaulter Kristen Denk to sign with Ohio State
By Tim Bielik, Northeast Ohio Media Group
on November 11, 2014 1:34 p.m.


NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio — North Royalton senior pole vaulter Kristen Denk will sign her National Letter of Intent on Wednesday to compete at Ohio State.

Denk was a USA Track and Field All-American this summer after three top-ten finishes at national competitions, including a second-place finish at the USATF Youth National Championship in Indianapolis.

Last spring, Denk finished fourth in the Division I state championship meet and set a district-record with a vault of 12 feet, 4 inches.

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Re: Class of 2015 College Signings

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Tue Nov 11, 2014 9:31 pm

http://www.wacotrib.com/sports/high_sch ... 12b95.html

China Spring pole vault champ Bray to sign with Tech


Posted: Friday, November 7, 2014 12:01 am | Updated: 2:20 am, Fri Nov 7, 2014.
China Spring’s Brandon Bray, who won a Class 3A state championship in the pole vault in the spring, has committed to Texas Tech’s track and field program and plans to sign next Wednesday.
Bray actually landed a full ride on his scholarship, rare in a sport that is limited to 12.5 scholarships. China Spring assistant track coach Jeff Bray, Brandon’s father and a former college vaulter, said that the Tech coaching staff informed the Brays that it was the first full scholarship they’d awarded to a field event athlete in the past 13 years.
Brandon Bray is the top returning vaulter in the nation, clearing 17-81/2. He owns the Central Texas record as well as the nation’s top all-time vaults for both a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old.
Bray picked Tech over a field that also included Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky and Oral Roberts.

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Re: Class of 2015 College Signings

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Tue Nov 11, 2014 9:31 pm

http://www.thetimesherald.com/story/spo ... /18830623/

Shell commits to pole vault at Oklahoma
Paul Costanzo, Times Herald 9:17 p.m. EST November 10, 2014
Mackenzie Shell
(Photo: JEFFREY SMITH / TIMES HERALD, JEFFREY SMITH / TIMES HERALD)

Mackenzie Shell almost canceled her official visit to Oklahoma.

After taking a pair of visits to Indiana, the Port Huron Northern senior pole vaulter was pretty sure that was where she wanted to attend school. But a phone call to cancel set the wheels in motion to change Shell’s mind.

“I called the coach, and he said, ‘I really think you should go,’” Shell said. “Before I went, he came for a home visit and to watch my practice. He got me really excited to come down for an official visit.”

Shell wrapped up her visit with the Sooners on Sunday, and after flying home made another call, this time to commit to Oklahoma. She will sign with the school at 2 p.m. Wednesday in a ceremony at Northern. She chose the Sooners over Indiana, Nebraska, Tennessee, South Florida, Akron and Kentucky.

She visited all seven of the schools — Indiana twice — making for a busy fall. It also made for a tough Sunday night of phone calls, something she wanted to do before announcing her commitment on Twitter at 8:19 p.m.

“I was still stressed (after making her commitment) a little bit because I had to tell all the other coaches,” Shell said. “Once I told the Oklahoma coach I was going there, I felt a little better.

“I wanted to sit there and call everyone and then be done. They were upset, because they really wanted me, but they were like, ‘Good luck with the season. If we see you, come up and say hello.’”

Shell became one of the nation’s most coveted prep pole vaulters with a stunning junior season, which included multiple All-American finishes, a state championship, a state record and a personal best of 13 feet, 6 inches, which ranks her sixth in the country.

“Last year, until I got to really high heights, I never would imagine that I would get to where I am now,” Shell said. “I was only at 11-3, so I was thinking I would go to a smaller school in Michigan.

“I wasn’t really focused on college that much. I kind of thought that it had its time to come, and I was really focused on getting to a point where I could compete in college.”

Her success led to offers from some of the best programs in the country. Northern boy track coach Craig Dickinson, who also coaches the pole vaulters, said that while he’s had Division I-caliber athletes who have received full-ride offers before, he had never had coaches come here to make in-home visits.

They weren’t the only ones traveling, of course, as Shell had a busy fall making trips of her own.

From the final weekend in September through this past weekend, Shell was on a visit every week. She went to Nebraska, then Tennessee, then South Florida, then Akron, then Indiana and Kentucky in the same week, then Indiana again, and finally Oklahoma.

“Toward the middle, it started to (get tiresome), and I just wanted it to be done,” she said. “But I knew if I really didn’t go on these visits, I would probably regret it.”

The comfort she felt at Oklahoma was what put the school over the top. Not that she didn’t feel comfortable at other schools, she said, but just more so in Norman.

Shell would be the Sooners’ top pole vaulter now, but she said that being at the top of the team didn’t play much of a role, if any, in her decision.

“I think I’m the top one coming in. He wanted someone to kind of lead the group, I guess,” Shell said. “They have a pretty young vaulting team. I just wanted some competition, whether it be in the school or the conference (Big 12) they’re in.”

Dickinson said he felt Shell made the right choice.

“I think it’s a great fit,” he said. “It’s in the South, which we had said all along was important, because she can jump year-round. The vault coach was the national coach in Wales, so he has connections in Europe. If (Shell’s vaulting) goes the way we think it can, those connections are invaluable.”

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Re: Class of 2015 College Signings

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Tue Nov 11, 2014 9:35 pm

From Twitter...

@AdamDuvall: Pekin sr. pole vaulter Hannah Swift (@_Swifty) has committed to Kansas. She'll sign a NLI this week. Congrats, Hannah!

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Re: Class of 2015 College Signings

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Thu Nov 13, 2014 1:19 pm

http://www.chattanoogan.com/2014/11/13/ ... apers.aspx

Nicolette Gordon – Pole Vault (Kentucky) … Ironically, Gordon was a competitive gymnast until a series of injuries including a pair of knee surgeries ended that career, but opened the door for the pole vault.

“Kentucky is a good fit for me academically and athletically, as I plan to major in physical therapy,” said Gordon who is in the top five in the senior class and has a 4.0+ grade point average.

Gordon did not pole vault until the fall of 2013 and won the TSSAA A-AA state title in the spring with a vault of 12 feet and now holds the school and state records.
"The Kentucky coaches are great and I have lots of room to improve."

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Re: Class of 2015 College Signings

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Thu Nov 13, 2014 1:20 pm

http://www.thetimesherald.com/story/spo ... /18948459/

Algonac senior to pole vault for University of South Florida

Algonac's Mitchell Mueller signs his letter of intent to continue pole vaulting at South Florida. Matt Sheehan

Matt Sheehan, Times Herald 10:07 p.m. EST November 12, 2014

Standing in his camouflage jacket just minutes before signing his national letter of intent, all Mitchell Mueller talked about was how he couldn't wait to get "to the U.P."

With 6 inches of snow expected to blanket the Upper Peninsula, the Algonac senior just wanted to hop back on the snowmobile and enjoy Michigan's cold weather.

For how different his scenery will be in college, you can't blame him for wanting to ride on every snowflake before he carries his pole vaulting career to the University of South Florida next fall.

"I got wrapped in and hooked on their school and the weather," Mueller said. "The fact I can pole vault all year and not go indoors (helped). They have a great pole vault coach and everyone down there made it feel like a small family."

Registering with the National Collegiate Scouting Association to get his name out there, Mueller had more than 100 coaches contact him. In the end the decision was brought down to either South Florida or Central Michigan University, but the choice was simple the minute he set foot at the campus in Tampa, Florida.

When the Muskrat leaves to become a Bull this summer, he will be bringing a record-breaking, title-winning history with him on his 1,200 mile journey.

Last year in the Division 2 state meet, Mueller vaulted over the competition with a personal best 15-foot-9 vault to take the title. This season he could eclipse the Division 2 record of 16-foot-1 set by Marine City's Jaime Salisbury in 2012.

It wouldn't be the first record he would snap as he cleared the school record that was once set in 1984 by his dad, Matthew Mueller.

"It was awesome," Matthew Mueller said. "One boy beat it in '92 or '96 by an inch, and Mitchell was really close at team states his sophomore year, and when they measured it he was off by a quarter inch."

"He was the proudest dad in the world," said his mom, Shelly Mueller.

Instead of taking an easy trip to the alma mater to watch their son pole vault, the parents will be adding a few hundred more miles onto the commute next year. However, they're already putting the travel into perspective.

"If you can travel within state three, four or five hours ... you can fly two or three hours," Matthew Mueller said. "A lot of the decision was based on the school and the coach. Especially if he is a long ways away, he's got a good support network."

Mueller will be coached at South Florida by 19-year pole vault coach Don Marsh, who has coached six All-Americans during his tenure.

Getting a great coaching experience won't be a change for Mitchell Mueller since Algonac coach Kurt Welchner has helped him throughout his high school career.

"Mr. Welchner is the most committed coach and person I've ever met in my life," Shelly Mueller said.

Seeing Mitchell Mueller make it to a Division I college was hardly a surprise to Welchner. Once he leaped through Algonac's doors, Welchner had a hunch a signing day was in his future.

"Seeing him in seventh and eighth grade ... he was up there with our varsity kids," Welchner said. "From a young age, he was already setting standards and you could tell he was going to be special right off the bat."

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Re: Class of 2015 College Signings

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Thu Nov 13, 2014 1:21 pm

http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/ba ... stude.html

TAMPA --
Tampa Catholic High School held a signing cermony where three Crisader athletes signed National Letters of Intent.

The three were golfer Nilo Sanchez who signed with Coker College in Hartsville, SC, pole vaulter Nicki Carroll who signed with the Unviersity of South Florida and Cristina Clauberg who signed with The University of Tampa.

Carroll is a two time and the defending Class 2A state champion in the pole vault

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Re: Class of 2015 College Signings

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Thu Nov 13, 2014 1:22 pm

http://www.tampabay.com/hometeam/blog/m ... lsu/21593/

Mitchell's Taylor Anderson, one of the bay area's premier two-sport athletes, has committed to LSU for swimming and track.
Anderson, who has won two straight state swim titles in the 50-yard freestyle and is the defending state champion in the pole vault, said her preference all along was to compete in both sports in college. She also was considering Florida Gulf Coast, FSU and Tulane but ultimately chose the Tigers because of their long-standing tradition as a powerhouse in swimming and track.
Anderson will make it official at 2 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 19) when she signs her national letter of intent.
"The biggest thing was the chance to play both sports," Anderson said. "Tulane offered in both, but LSU was a little more competitive in both. Florida Gulf Coast only had a club team. LSU just felt like the right fit for me."
Last week, Anderson won her second 50 free title in a personal record 23 seconds, nearly a full second faster than her closest competitor. Now, she shifts her attention to track where she will try to soar to new heights in the pole vault.
At LSU, Anderson will join former Mitchell standout Devin McCaffrey, who won state titles in the 100 breast and one in the 100 fly.
"I love Devin, but he wasn't a major factor in going to LSU," Anderson said. "I made sure to focus on the school and the program while I was there on my visit to stay unbiased."

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rainbowgirl28
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Re: Class of 2015 College Signings

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Thu Nov 13, 2014 1:24 pm

Nicole Sumersett to Stanford

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Re: Class of 2015 College Signings

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Thu Nov 13, 2014 1:25 pm

http://www.timesreporter.com/article/20 ... 85/SPECIAL

Dunn to attend the University of Akron, pole vault for Zips
Garaway High School pole vaulter Roxy Dunn signed to continue her education and sporting career at the University of Akron on Wednesday. She is flanked by her father Ryan and mother Marlene, while standing in the back are Adam Moser (former Garaway assistant coach track coach), Joel Arnold (New Philadelphia pole vault coach),... emailprintCOMMENT0
Posted Nov. 12, 2014 @ 4:06 pm

Garaway High School pole vaulter Roxy Dunn signed to continue her education and sporting career at the University of Akron on Wednesday. She is flanked by her father Ryan and mother Marlene, while standing in the back are Adam Moser (former Garaway assistant coach track coach), Joel Arnold (New Philadelphia pole vault coach), Kyle Dunn, Garaway girls head track coach Zach Mottice, Dave Mackey (pole vault coach at Industrial Vault Club in Massillon) and Tom Addy (Newcomerstown track and pole vault coach).

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Re: Class of 2015 College Signings

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Thu Nov 13, 2014 1:26 pm

Kaitlyn Merritt to Stanford

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Re: Class of 2015 College Signings

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Thu Nov 13, 2014 1:31 pm

From Milesplit:

Drew Pedersen to UNC
Gabriella Luethner to Tulane
Erin McDaniel to Montevallo
Bryce Simpson to South Carolina
Kathryn Tomczak to Air Force


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