Wednesday, May 31, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
11
Greaney signs as dual-sport athlete for Macalester College
By Rongi Yost
Correspondent
Keegan Greaney has com-
mitted to play basketball
and run track for Macalester
College, in St. Paul,
Minnesota.
Greaney has been a stand-
out athlete in both basketball
and track for Sisters High
School the past four years,
and will bring his abilities and
love of those sports with him
as a Scot.
Keegan played full-time on
the Sisters High School (SHS)
varsity basketball team for
three years, and was selected
first team all conference all
three years. He averaged
nine points, two assists, three
steals, and five boards per
game. He’s very versatile and
played at point guard, shoot-
ing guard, and small forward.
Sisters High School varsity
basketball Coach Rand Runco
said, “Keegan was such a ter-
rific player to coach. He is one
of the best defensive players
in the state and completely
changes opponents’ ability to
run offense. He literally takes
players and teams away on
the defensive end of the court.
His work ethic is outstanding
and he often works long hours
to make sure he honors his
commitments.”
Keegan started to play bas-
ketball when he was 6 years
old, and shared with The
Nugget his earliest memory of
playing hoops.
“I was about 6 and can
remember playing basketball
with my oldest brother Brian
(9 years older), going one-on-
one in the backyard almost
every day,” said Greaney.
“I didn’t beat him one-on-
one until I was 14 years old.
He’d let me get close, but
he’d never let me win. It was
definitely a motivation to get
better.”
In addition to being a
standout basketball player,
Greaney is also a stellar track-
ster. Keegan has been on the
varsity squad for four years,
and has made his mark in
several events. Keegan broke
the record in the 300-meter
hurdles with a time of 40 sec-
onds, runs the 110 hurdles
in 16 seconds, is the first leg
of the 4x100 relay, and runs
anchor in the 4x400 relay.
Keegan told The Nugget
he’s always wanted to play
basketball at the collegiate
level, and was searching for
a small, academically chal-
lenging college. He sent bas-
ketball videos to several col-
leges he was interested in,
and last summer went back
east and visited three col-
leges: Tufts University in
Boston; Williams College in
Massachusetts; and Oberlin
College in Ohio — but none
of them felt like the right fit.
Just before school started
in the fall, head basket-
ball coach Tim Whittle, of
Macalester College, contacted
him and asked him to come
for a visit. About the same
time, Keegan received an
email from the track coach,
Margaret Gehring, who’d
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looked him up, saw his times
in track, and expressed inter-
est in him running track as
well.
In October, Greaney vis-
ited Macalester and met with
both the basketball and track
coaches.
“Coach Whittle told me he
felt I would be a good fit for
the program with my style of
play, and that the school was
the right fit academically,”
said Greaney. “After my visit
I was offered a spot on the
team as a guard.”
In addition to playing bas-
ketball, Greaney will run the
400 hurdles, and possibly do
the decathlon and the 4x400
relay for the track team.
After a couple months of
thinking seriously about the
opportunity, and talking with
his parents, Keegan knew
Macalester would be the one.
“I applied early decision,
which is a binding applica-
tion,” said Greaney. “In late
January, I accepted the spots
on both the basketball and
track teams.
“I really liked the school
and the people,” said
Greaney. “It’s very rigorous
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Keegan Greaney signs with Macalester College.
academically, and I want to
push myself, and feel I’m
up for the challenge. It’s in a
unique location in the Twin
Cities and I feel like my
academic opportunities will
be enhanced by living in an
urban area. I’m excited I will
get to meet new people, and
that I get to do the two sports I
absolutely love.”
Macalester College is a
Division 3 school located in
St. Paul, Minnesota, and is
not allowed to offer athletic
scholarships. That wasn’t a
problem for Greaney, who
boasts a weighted 4.0 GPA,
and will have the majority of
his expenses covered due to
academic scholarships.
Greaney told The Nugget
he was very relieved when the
whole process was over and
he’d made a definite decision
to go to Macalester.
“I was very relieved
because inside I knew
Macalester was the right
place for me, and I had ful-
filled my goal to play college
basketball.”
Keegan is considering
pursuing a degree in Political
Science or International
Studies.
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