Melanie Vertrees had a change of heart.
The Kent-Meridian High track standout and recent graduate made a verbal commitment in April to compete at Washington State University this fall. Something, however, just didn’t feel right. So, after the spring season finished, Vertrees, the Reporter’s Female Athlete of the Year, went on trips to the University of Washington and Indiana University.
Her final choice?
The University of Oregon.
“When I went to Oregon, there wasn’t one reason I could think of as to why I wouldn’t want to go there,” said Vertrees, who graduated from Kent-Meridian with a 3.898 grade-point average. “It’s Tracktown USA, they have the best facility. I really clicked with the coaches and athletes.”
Vertrees essentially waited until the last second to sign on with the Ducks. She initially had chosen Washington State months ago, but as the high school season progressed, she became less and less committed to becoming a Cougar.
“It was a really hard (process). After I went to Indiana, I made a chart on my computer about the pros and cons of each school … it is pretty much the biggest decision of my life to date (and decides) what I am going to do for the next four years,” said Vertrees, who earned 12 varsity letters in four years at Kent-Meridian. “I was trying to think of one bad reason to not go to the University of Oregon. The other colleges, there was always a little thing here and there.”
The K-M star couldn’t find one. And now she’ll be heading to one of the truly elite track and field programs in the nation, one that was ranked second in the nation at the end of last season. In addition, Vertrees will be going to Oregon on scholarship.
Surprisingly, however, it all came about on a whim. At the end of spring, Oregon hadn’t shown much — if any — interest in the Royal athlete. Not feeling 100 percent confident in her original choice of Washington State, Vertrees sought out a few other options with Oregon being at the top of that list.
“They hadn’t showed much interest, so I e-mailed the coach on a whim,” said Vertrees, who anticipates studying human physiology. “He watched some videos of me on YouTube that my mom had posted and then, all of a sudden, was interested.”
Oregon’s lack of interest in the spring remains a bit of a surprise when considering Vertrees qualified for state in four events: the high jump, triple jump, shot put and the 100-meter hurdles. She went on to take second at state in the high jump, uncorking a leap of 5 feet, 8 inches, a mark she had topped by two inches just weeks earlier. In addition, Vertrees holds several K-M records, including the high jump (5-10), triple jump (37-4.25) and javelin (119-8).
Despite waiting so long to sign, Vertrees remains happy with the end result.
“I am glad I waited it out,” she said. “Words can’t explain how happy and relieved I am.”
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