COLLEGE SIGNINGS: Calhoun’s Jack Rhea and Gordon Central’s Cailey Martin both signed athletic scholarships recently
Calhoun High senior Jack Rhea (front row, center) signed a track and field scholarship with Aquinas College (Grand Rapids, Mich.) on Friday.
Rhea said of the signing: “If you would’ve asked me before my junior year if I would be signing a track scholarship, I would’ve thought you were crazy. I was jumping at around 10 feet (in the pole vault), but I just kept working and jumping higher and higher. And that hard work has paid off. Not a lot of kids get the opportunity to continue their track and field career in college, and I’m blessed that I get to do that. This means a whole lot to me. I had a few schools recruiting me — Tennessee, Samford, Kennesaw State — but Aquinas is where I felt the most at home. I really like the city and the people, and they have a great program for pole vaulting. It really just felt more like home and more of a team atmosphere, which is what I was looking for. I’m about as nervous as any kid moving from Georgia to Michigan can be, but I’m ready to move on to the next chapter. I’m ready to get to college. It’s a strange feeling knowing you’re going to be moving so far away, but sometime you just have to take those kinds of leaps and get out of your comfort zone. I’m looking forward to it.”
Also attending the signing were: Cousin Cheyenne Kesler (front row, from left), sister Katie Rhea, mother Michelle Newton, stepfather Andy Newton, Calhoun High assistant track coach Kayla Ralston (back row, from left), Calhoun High assistant track coach Raymond Hobby, Calhoun High head track coach Brant Murry, Calhoun High assistant track coach Lynn Walter and stepbrother Daniel Newton.