Sarah Penney (Xavier College Prep) was interested in several colleges including Loyola Marymount, the University of LA, Arizona State University, Oregon State University, the University of Washington and Wake Forest but she only visited two. A month after her visit to Loyola Marymount, Penney headed to the University of Oregon for her officail visit, "From the moment I was there (Oregon) until the time I left, I knew that this was where I wanted to go," said a very excited Penney. So a week after visiting Oregon, Penney cancelled her other official visits and verbally committed to Oregon.
On Wednesday Penney signed her letter of intent and this fall she will become a duck along with seven other top high school runners including National Footlocker Champion Jordan Hasay (Mission College Prep, CA).
Penney's impressive 800 and 1600 times at the 5A State Track and FIeld meet caught the eye of Oregon coach Vin Lananna. Her 4:52.41 mile mark ranked her 20th in the Nation last year. Her other PR's include a 2:14.20 800, a 4:50.72 1600 and a 10:39.70 3200.
With the decision behind her, Penney can now concentrate on her final few months as a student athlete. "The year isn't over yet.....I still have one more track season to do," said a reflective Penney, "Leaving the Xavier family will definitely be a hard thing to do, especially leaving all the girls."
As Penney looked back on her decision to sign with Oregon she couldn't help but think about all the hard work she put into her practices during her four years at Xavier College Prep, "Thinking back to my freshman year, I never saw myself signing for a Divison I team who is ranked as one of the best in the country but signing for Oregon, a part of me felt more mature because I will be leaving home and starting a new life in Eugene."
We wish her all the best!