Conway's Rea signs with UCA

The University of Central Arkansas' track program is getting what appears to be a steal.

The state's top-ranked high school girls pole vaulter, Conway's McKinley Rea, declined scholarship offers from across the nation, from New York to Nevada.

Instead, she elected to stay close to home by signing with UCA for track and field in front of her family, coaches, teachers and friends at Wampus Cat Arena on Wednesday.

"I'm very excited, and I can't wait until next year," Rea said. "Coach (J.R.) Ross has helped with everything on the track side of things. I'm thankful that I can always go talk to him about anything. Coach (Maurice) Sanders really got my pole vaulting skills going."

Rea won the high school division of the pole vault event at the Tyson Invitational this past weekend on the campus of the University of Arkansas. Rea won the event with a leap of 11-0.

"We are excited because she was recruited by SEC schools, WAC schools, and Mountain West schools, and we're glad McKinley's staying home," her father Shawn Rea said. "I'll be able to go help her practice, and that weighed into the decision quite a bit. So, I can keep an eye on her, and she'll still be able to travel down to Mpimt Ida to work with coach Sanders."

Rea is also a member of the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams. So, her all-conference and all-state accomplishments came from the track as well as from the pit. Rea won the 7A-Central Conference meet last spring in pole vault, and she followed it up with a blue ribbon at the 7A state meet.

Rea placed second in last year's Meet of Champs to former Lake Hamilton star Stephanie Foreman.

Foreman now is a freshman at Arkansas State, so Rea may be in line for a clean sweep at all three events.

"I think UCA is a good place for her so we can still keep an eye on her," Ross said. "It'll be good for her to go there to."