From Warsaw To Winston-Salem...
Standout runner Jake Poyner commits to Wake Forest
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
The 2011 Northern Lakes Conference cross country champion and state qualifier the past two seasons, Poyner has made a verbal commitment to run at Wake Forest University of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“I really like the campus,” Poyner said of Wake Forest, which is located Winston-Salem, N.C. “It's really nice and compact. It's not spread out, which I really like. I also like the climate there. It's about 56 (degrees) and sunny there right now, which is perfect weather. I also felt good about the academics there. They have a good reputation.”
Prior to committing to the Demon Deacons, Poyner took unofficial visits to Bradley and Lipscomb, as well as an official visit to Lipscomb, Alabama, Kentucky, Cornell and Wake Forest.
His last two visits were to Cornell and Wake Forest between Dec. 3 and 9, but he didn’t want to rush into the decision, waiting until Jan. 10 to announce he’d attend Wake Forest.
“I came back and really wanted to think through stuff and get financial stuff figured out and lay it all out on the table,” Poyner said.
Poyner, who finished sixth at this year’s state finals in Terre Haute, said he had a gut feeling about Wake Forest as soon as he arrived, and ultimately, he went with it.
“When I threw it all together, the difference between Wake and the others was kind of a gut feeling as soon as I pulled into the airport,” he said. “I felt like that was the place that would be good for me.
“It was between Lipscomb and Wake, but it just kept coming back to that gut reaction I had,” he added.
Because of Wake’s status as a private institution, it will actually be more beneficial for Poyner to take financial aid, as opposed to the scholarship offered.
“Because of where I'm coming from, I actually qualified for a lot of financial aid, so I got an 85 percent scholarship based on financial aid alone,” he said. “The rule at that school is, if you accept that financial aid, they can not give you athletic money. Actually, any scholarships I win locally for athletics, I can not use toward that school. The coaches are currently trying to change that. It's kind of a quirky rule, but that's what I was informed.”
While he’s committed to the school, he must still be cleared academically, which shouldn’t be difficult for him as he is among the top 10 seniors at WCHS.
“I actually haven't been accepted yet,” he said. “I'm waiting to hear about that, but if I get accepted, that's definitely when it will be official. We did an academic evaluation last year, and they felt like I could get into the school, even if there weren't any athletics involved.”
Once accepted, Poyner may sign is letter of intent on Feb. 6.
After that, he’ll be able to put a recruiting process that began last year behind him.
“Your junior year, you begin getting letters and questionnaires,” he said. “I filled out a lot of online questionnaires to whatever schools crossed my mind, which was kind of fun. That's how Wake actually heard about me. I looked at the ACC results and picked half the schools there to send them stuff.”
Along with filling out forms, an athlete must also continue to excel, which Poyner did this year.
And now knowing where he’ll be running in college, he can just focus on helping the Warsaw track team in the spring, without the weight of recruitment on his shoulders.
“When you have coaches always looking at you, sometimes you feel like you can never run a bad race,” he said. “It's stressful, but for the most part I had to keep reminding myself it was a great opportunity for me. Which I'm very grateful for.”
At Wake, like other recipients of track scholarships, Poyner will focus on track and may get a shot at cross country as well.
“Everyone is on the track team, but if you're in a position and put in the miles, you could compete for cross country,” he said. “And I really like the team aspect of cross country. One of my goals is to work on my mileage so I can compete in cross country.”
On the track, he’ll have to chose what he wants to run, as he finished 10th at state last year in the 1600-meter run, but knows the college races also feature much longer distances.
“I'm kind of open to anything,” he said. “I don't know about running a 10K on the track. Sometimes you're also torn in track, because there's so many events I enjoy. Anything from a 400(-meter dash) up to the largest distance, I enjoy.”
For now, he’s looking to qualify academically for Wake, then get started with the Warsaw track team, which opens its indoor season March 2 at the Hoosier State Relays Qualifier at Indiana Wesleyan University.
“I don't think there will be as much thinking on my performances, which will be a relief,” he said about embarking on his last prep season. “I think I run better when that's the case. I'm looking forward to that.”[[In-content Ad]]
The 2011 Northern Lakes Conference cross country champion and state qualifier the past two seasons, Poyner has made a verbal commitment to run at Wake Forest University of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“I really like the campus,” Poyner said of Wake Forest, which is located Winston-Salem, N.C. “It's really nice and compact. It's not spread out, which I really like. I also like the climate there. It's about 56 (degrees) and sunny there right now, which is perfect weather. I also felt good about the academics there. They have a good reputation.”
Prior to committing to the Demon Deacons, Poyner took unofficial visits to Bradley and Lipscomb, as well as an official visit to Lipscomb, Alabama, Kentucky, Cornell and Wake Forest.
His last two visits were to Cornell and Wake Forest between Dec. 3 and 9, but he didn’t want to rush into the decision, waiting until Jan. 10 to announce he’d attend Wake Forest.
“I came back and really wanted to think through stuff and get financial stuff figured out and lay it all out on the table,” Poyner said.
Poyner, who finished sixth at this year’s state finals in Terre Haute, said he had a gut feeling about Wake Forest as soon as he arrived, and ultimately, he went with it.
“When I threw it all together, the difference between Wake and the others was kind of a gut feeling as soon as I pulled into the airport,” he said. “I felt like that was the place that would be good for me.
“It was between Lipscomb and Wake, but it just kept coming back to that gut reaction I had,” he added.
Because of Wake’s status as a private institution, it will actually be more beneficial for Poyner to take financial aid, as opposed to the scholarship offered.
“Because of where I'm coming from, I actually qualified for a lot of financial aid, so I got an 85 percent scholarship based on financial aid alone,” he said. “The rule at that school is, if you accept that financial aid, they can not give you athletic money. Actually, any scholarships I win locally for athletics, I can not use toward that school. The coaches are currently trying to change that. It's kind of a quirky rule, but that's what I was informed.”
While he’s committed to the school, he must still be cleared academically, which shouldn’t be difficult for him as he is among the top 10 seniors at WCHS.
“I actually haven't been accepted yet,” he said. “I'm waiting to hear about that, but if I get accepted, that's definitely when it will be official. We did an academic evaluation last year, and they felt like I could get into the school, even if there weren't any athletics involved.”
Once accepted, Poyner may sign is letter of intent on Feb. 6.
After that, he’ll be able to put a recruiting process that began last year behind him.
“Your junior year, you begin getting letters and questionnaires,” he said. “I filled out a lot of online questionnaires to whatever schools crossed my mind, which was kind of fun. That's how Wake actually heard about me. I looked at the ACC results and picked half the schools there to send them stuff.”
Along with filling out forms, an athlete must also continue to excel, which Poyner did this year.
And now knowing where he’ll be running in college, he can just focus on helping the Warsaw track team in the spring, without the weight of recruitment on his shoulders.
“When you have coaches always looking at you, sometimes you feel like you can never run a bad race,” he said. “It's stressful, but for the most part I had to keep reminding myself it was a great opportunity for me. Which I'm very grateful for.”
At Wake, like other recipients of track scholarships, Poyner will focus on track and may get a shot at cross country as well.
“Everyone is on the track team, but if you're in a position and put in the miles, you could compete for cross country,” he said. “And I really like the team aspect of cross country. One of my goals is to work on my mileage so I can compete in cross country.”
On the track, he’ll have to chose what he wants to run, as he finished 10th at state last year in the 1600-meter run, but knows the college races also feature much longer distances.
“I'm kind of open to anything,” he said. “I don't know about running a 10K on the track. Sometimes you're also torn in track, because there's so many events I enjoy. Anything from a 400(-meter dash) up to the largest distance, I enjoy.”
For now, he’s looking to qualify academically for Wake, then get started with the Warsaw track team, which opens its indoor season March 2 at the Hoosier State Relays Qualifier at Indiana Wesleyan University.
“I don't think there will be as much thinking on my performances, which will be a relief,” he said about embarking on his last prep season. “I think I run better when that's the case. I'm looking forward to that.”[[In-content Ad]]
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