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Mitch Greeley named South Carolina's top male athlete

Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 9:17 am
by Carolina Extreme
http://www.heraldonline.com/sports/stor ... 9035c.html

Congratulations to Mitch! We are all proud of his accomplishments and wish him well at USA Juniors today. :yes:

Trojans' Greeley named South Carolina's top male athlete

Published: Wednesday, June, 23rd, 2004

By Barry Byers The Herald

Northwestern High School's Mitch Greeley has been named Gatorade's South Carolina Track and Field Male Athlete of the Year.

Greeley, who signed a scholarship with Clemson, is the three-time defending Class AAAA state champion in the pole vault. At this year's meet, Greeley set the state record with a vault of 16 feet, 9 inches.


The record stands as the second-best vault among high schoolers in the country this year.


'I feel pretty good,'' Greeley said over the phone Tuesday afternoon. 'This is an exciting honor to win. At the beginning of the season, I started working out and working on my speed. I was determined to go higher this year and that's what has pushed me all season long.''


Greeley is on a Western swing that began on June 2 with stops at three national meets.


On June 2, Greeley won at the Great Southwest Classic in Albuquerque, N.M., with a vault of 16-5.


Then it was on to Sacramento, Calif., where Greeley recorded a 15-0 height at the Golden West Classic.


'It wasn't one of my best jumps, but I was pleased,'' Greeley said. 'I finished somewhere around tenth. The one I'm gearing for is in College Station (Texas) on Friday.''


That would be the third and final meet on his tour, the United States Track and Field Junior Championships at Texas A&M University.


'I'd like to jump over 17 feet,'' Greeley said. 'This has been a good trip and it would be a good ending to win at Texas and go over 17 feet.


'I've been doing quite a bit of sight seeing. I've been to Yosemite National Park and the Grand Canyon. And I've been able to get in some rock climbing, which is my first love.''


The Gatorade High School Player of the Year program recognizes one winner in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in football, basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball, soccer and track and field.


Each state winner, selected by a panel of sport-specific experts and a National Media Advisory Board, is chosen based on his or her accomplishments on and off the field of play. The criteria include an athlete's achievements in the classroom and overall character.


By winning the state honor, Greeley is entered into a pool with the other winners from around the country. Later this month, Gatorade will announce its National High School Boys' and Track and Field Athlete of the Year.


South Carolina's girls' winner is J.L. Mann's Heather Nesbitt, who was unable to compete in the state meet because of an injury.


Nesbitt, a 4.4 student who will attend the University of South Carolina, dominated Region 3-AAA in the 100, 200 and 400 meters and as part of the school's 1,600-meter relay team.

Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 10:35 am
by rainbowgirl28
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/ ... 002.htm?1c

Friends vault around country

Northwestern's Greeley competes on summer road trip

BRETT HONEYCUTT

Staff Writer
Nearly anytime Mitch Greeley and Jeff Squibbs stopped at a gas station this month, people would ask about the two 16-foot-long poles on top of their SUV.

Since June 2, the two have driven nearly 7,000 miles through South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Mexico in Greeley's mom's 2003 Honda Pilot SUV.

They experienced an earthquake in California, rock climbed at Yosemite National Park, saw the Grand Canyon, and competed in two track meets.

Greeley, who graduated from Rock Hill Northwestern in May, is ranked No. 3 in the nation in the pole vault and the S.C. 4A meet record holder at 16-feet, 9 inches.

He decided to take the trip less than three weeks before he and Squibbs departed.

Today is the climax.

Greeley, who has signed with Clemson, will be competing at the USA Junior Track and Field Championships at Texas A&M. The event includes college freshmen and is the nation's top meet for track and field athletes, ages 19 and under. The top two in each event qualify for the World Junior Championships, July 13-18, in Grosseto, Italy.

"I was all for it," said Squibbs, who isn't competing, but is acting as Greeley's coach. "I always wanted to come west and see the coast."

Greeley and Squibbs had planned to go to Key West, Fla., for a one-week vacation after graduation. Then, the invitations came from the Great Southwest Classic in Albuquerque, N.M., and The Golden West Invitational in Sacramento, Calif., two of the most prestigious high school meets in the nation.

After checking the cost of airfare and transporting poles, and finding out delivery couldn't be guaranteed, Greeley decided to drive.

"I don't think a lot of them really believed me," said Greeley, when asked what his friends thought.

Greeley won the Great Southwest on June 5, with a vault of 16-4 3/4, but was eighth at Golden West on June 12, at 15-0.

"The only time I get to practice is at the meet," Greeley said. "It's hard to stay at the top level without practicing. Fatigue starts to get to you a little bit with being in the car, being tired and not being prepared."

Greeley's mom flew to see him at the Great Southwest meet. His father will watch him compete today and will finish the trip with Greeley and Squibbs, riding back through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia before arriving home in Rock Hill.

"It's been awesome," Squibbs said. "It's like a new experience everywhere we go."

Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2004 2:35 am
by jhesch
The main thing I remember from watching him vault is that he had one of the widest grips ive seen, which may provide support for a debate about grip width, but hey, if it gets him over big heights, I'm all for it. :yes:
That and he's got some crazy dreads!