OVER THE COURSE of a busy senior year of competition, Scottie Vines repeatedly demonstrated his ability to stay calm in high-pressure situations. But the high jumper was caught off guard when some mid-summer turbulence threw his college plans into chaos. Originally committed to attending Colorado in his home state, he found himself in the transfer portal before he ever set foot on campus when the Buffaloes’ new head coach, Sean Carlson, decided to focus the program on distance runners. Carlson called the incoming recruits and told them his plans, leaving Vines no choice but to find a new school.
“I’m not gonna lie,” Vines says. “When it very first happened, and I found out that I was going to have to go in the portal, I was freaking out a little bit. What got me back in the right mindset was that all these super-good jump schools were contacting me and very serious about wanting me.”
That makes sense, given Vines’ accomplishments for De Beque High, winning his third straight State title, sweeping the Nike Outdoor/USATF U20 double at Hayward Field in June, and following that up by advancing to the Olympic Trials final.
Among the schools courting Vines was Arkansas, the alma mater of many great high jumpers, including’04 Olympic silver medalist Matt Hemingway, a fellow Coloradan who has become a mentor to Vines over the last few years. Hemingway encouraged him to consider the program’s deep tradition in the sport.
“Everyone around you is so great in their events that it just motivates you to be the best version of yourself,” Vines says of his decision to join the Razorbacks. “It’s nice to feel wanted, too.”
Vines established himself as a top prospect with his win at the Texas Relays in late March, when he cleared 7-4¼ (2.24), a Trials qualifying mark. “That jump right there changed my whole year,” he says, admitting that he wasn’t even sure what the exact height was during the competition, since he wasn’t yet familiar with metric conversions. But right after he went over the bar he learned from Hemingway, who was on hand, that he’d just broken the Colorado state record, previously held by Hemingway himself.
At the OT Vines cleared 7-2¼ (2.19) in the qualifying round to advance to the final. Unfortunately, coming in at an opening height of 7-1 (2.16) was new…
CLICK HERE to Read the Full Original Article at Track & Field News…