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Tougher college standards push athletes to study hard

When it comes to applying to top schools, high-achievers welcome serious competition.

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By Doug Harris, Staff Writer Updated 8:13 PM Saturday, May 16, 2009

You won’t catch Andrea Kelsey spending hours playing “Guitar Hero.”

Playing video games and channel-surfing may be a popular pastime for her peers, but the Fairmont High School senior has too many other fulfilling responsibilities to waste time zoning out in front of the tube.

“I don’t go home and watch TV for hours. I have to do my homework,” she said. “I don’t go home and play on the computer forever. I have to do homework because of my strict schedule. And I don’t want to stay up late because I have to get good rest and be ready for the next practice.”

Sound boring? Well, Kelsey believes those going through high school without a disciplined lifestyle don’t know the fun they’re missing.

She’s a three-time state qualifier in cross country for the Firebirds and reached the state track meet last season on a relay. She’s also class valedictorian and will go to Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., to study biology with plans to be a doctor.

“I guess if I do well on a test or on a project, you just feel so good about yourself and you just know all your hard work paid off,” she said. “I’m a little competitive with sports and grades. If I do the best on a test, I get a little extra satisfaction. I always want to do the best, no matter what it is.”

Balancing books, sports

Kelsey isn’t alone. Many high school athletes might be content to slide by in the classroom, but administrators are seeing a rise in numbers among those who want to excel in academics and sports.

Centerville High School has 74 seniors with GPAs above 4.0 (advanced-placement classes allow students to soar past the old standard of perfection of 4.0), and 32 were letterwinners in athletics.

Northmont has 14 valedictorians (GPAs of 4.0 or better), and nine played sports.

Valley View is recognizing 11 seniors as valedictorians, and six were heavily involved in athletics, including two football players.

“As much as anything, I think it’s the increase in entrance requirements for a lot of colleges,” Centerville football coach and Athletic Director Ron Ullery said. “The competition is so great. I think back when we were applying to a college like Ohio State, you didn’t really have to be an outstanding student to get in. Now, Ohio State is at the Northwestern-Stanford level. We’ve got 3.7 and 3.8 GPA kids not getting in, which is amazing.”

Alter High School senior Catherine Crisler has had a decorated career as an athlete. She finished first at the state track meet on the 3,200-meter relay team as a sophomore, helped the Knights win state titles in cross country and basketball as a junior and finished second in a tight race in the 800 at the state track meet that year.

She also has a 3.8 GPA, and much of her motivation for excelling at school stems from stiffer entrance requirements.

“I think it’s definitely changed from the time my parents went to college,” said Crisler, who will run track and cross country at Loyola of Chicago next year.

“I think it’s more competitive because you have to do well on the ACT, you have to do well in school, and they look also at what you’ve been involved in. I guess they feel all those things are important because it shows you have good character and you’re able to balance all those things.”

Colleges are selective

Enrollment applications have soared in the past decade at the University of Dayton, allowing the school to be more selective. In 2008, 12,091 high school seniors applied to UD, compared to 7,181 in 1999. And the average ACT score for incoming freshmen has gone from 24.8 to 26.2.

Ohio State’s standards for admissions have risen dramatically, too. In 1999, 29 percent of freshmen were ranked in the top 10 percent of their classes in high school. This school year, 54 percent were in the top 10 percent.

The average ACT score at OSU has climbed from 24.7 to 27.3 in that span.

Northmont Athletic Director Robin Spiller pointed out that the NCAA’s recent Academic Progress Rate has caused college coaches to rethink taking marginal students. Programs that don’t reach certain standards face sanctions, including the loss of scholarships.

“Those students who, for lack of a better word, ‘get it’ understand they have to work in the classroom in order for a college coach to look at them,” Spiller said. “Most of the (high-achievement) kids we’re talking about have understood that, and if they want to go further in school, then they’ve got to make a commitment in the classroom, too.”

But not every scholar-athlete in high school studies diligently because of the doors it might open in college.

“I think I saw school as being beneficial for me (without) college being the end goal,” said Springboro salutatorian Spencer Smith, the Greater Western Ohio Conference South Division golfer of the year. “Working hard and getting a good education are things that are important in themselves.

“I don’t think I ever said to myself, ‘Oh, it’s so hard to get in college, I’d better try harder in school.’ I just worked hard in school because it was the right thing to do.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or at dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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