Cut from basketball team good for Greg Gallagher (NY)

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http://www.lohud.com/article/20120107/S ... -Gallagher


Con Ed Scholar-Athlete: Iona Prep's Greg Gallagher
1:45 AM, Jan. 7, 2012 | Comments

Written by
MIKE ZACCHIO

Greg Gallagher
CON ED AWARD WINNERName: Greg Gallagher
School: Iona Prep
Year: Senior
Sport: Track and field
Likes: Weightlifting, Spanish
Dislikes: Not living up to expectations, Brussels sprouts
Future plans: A degree in economics or business at William & Mary, followed by a career as a stock broker

Getting cut from the high school basketball team was one of the best things to happen to Iona Prep pole vaulter Greg Gallagher.

“My coach always tells me that getting cut was the best day of my life,” this week’s Con Edison Athlete of the Week said.

Upon being dismissed from the basketball team, Gallagher decided to pick up pole vaulting after seeing other students trying their hand at it.

“It looked pretty cool,” he said, “and a bit crazy.”

Gallagher said it was a way to stay active and the fact that it was something different attracted him to the track and field event.

“My first meet was the scariest,” he said. “I was so lost — my run was off; I was falling all over.” Gallagher said. “It was a bad day all around.”

Gallagher has learned to hone his vaulting skills, both physically and mentally.

“The hardest part is staying focused,” he said. “You can start to doubt yourself, so you have to be mentally prepared before each meet.”

After four standout years on the Gaels, Gallagher is on track to finish his varsity tenure as one of the best in the nation.

The senior made the most of his holiday break, grabbing two first-place finishes and a runner-up in three meets. Gallagher finished 2011 on the highest note, vaulting 15 feet, 4 inches to win the Marine Corps Holiday Classic. The height topped the nation-leading mark and entered the new year as the nation’s top vault.

“It’s a really great accomplishment so far,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher picked up this fall where he left off last season, after a stellar junior year. In indoor competitions, Gallagher was the Emerging Elite National Champion with a a vault of 14 feet, 9 inches. Gallagher finished as the third-ranked pole vaulter in the state, and the top-ranked junior. The Elmsford native was ranked 15th in the nation of all juniors.

Outdoors, Gallagher took home first place at the Westchester County championships and the CHSAA intersectional championships. He is the second-ranked junior in New York state, and ranks sixth overall.

Gallagher said he is looking forward to the national championships in March, where he will go up against the nation’s top athletes. Gallagher plans to attend William & Mary in the fall, where he will work toward either an economics or business degree.

The Con Edison Athlete of the Week recognizes students in Westchester and Putnam schools who excel athletically. Academic achievements, leadership, citizenship, school and community activities are also factors. The winner is selected each week by a panel of athletic directors and coaches who review ballots submitted by each athlete’s athletic director or coach.