Belfast senior Drew Nealey is one of the top athletes in Maine. We caught up with him on the eve of the Maine Class B State Championship where he looks to defend his pole vault title and add a few more to the mix.
MaineTrackXC: During indoor, you suffered an injury. How did you bounce back this outdoor season?
Drew Nealey: At our conference meet the week before the state meet I pulled my hamstring running down the runway for the pole vault after making my opening height. It was a little tight warming up but I though it had loosened up and I was feeling really good in the vault. I did everything that I could to try and bounce back and be able to at least do a short approach at states. Unfortunately my leg was not ready to compete. At first I was so disappointed. But I used the injury to make myself work on stuff I didn't always work on as much as I should of. The biggest thing was Flexibility. Flexibility as an athlete is so important and I was defiantly lacking in that area. Being more flexible has really helped me in all of my other events and has also helped keep me healthy
MTXC: Talk about the season you are having this year. You've jumped 6'2" in the high jump and a personal best of 14'7" in the pole vault already.
DN: I feel as though it's going pretty well. I had a pretty slow start do to recovering from a hamstring injury during the indoor season but I'm feeling strong now and ready for a great championship season.
MTXC: You do a little of everything. What is your favorite event?
DN: Next year in college I'm going to be a multi. I really enjoy doing all of the different events. I've always loved the pole vault and high jump. Though I think that hurdles are starting to become one of my favorite events as well. I'm excited to head down to Greensboro to compete in the decathlon in a few weeks.
MTXC: What is a typical workout week like?
DN: A typical workout week for me is pretty busy. Monday is usually form work, pole vault and hurdles. I usually try to work on at least one throwing event on those days too. Tuesday is typically the hardest workout of the week. This year I trained as a 400 meter runner so I was able to cover all of the bases. In the beginning of the year Wednesday was another workout on the track. But I usually worked on another throwing event as well. Thursday was usually just a warm up and stretch to warm up for the meet on Friday or Saturday. Workouts have been turned down a lot as we start to prepare for the championship season. At states I'm doing the 110h, 300h, pole vault, and javelin.
MTXC: How many individual points do you think you can score?
DN: The goal is always to score as many possible points for the team as possible. Im hoping that I will be able to perform well and score as many as i can for my team. Anything can happen throughout the course of a meet. So ill just have to wait and see.
MTXC: The pole vault is the event that you have won state in. What would it mean to win another title in that event, but also to close out your career with a championship in one of those others?
DN: Pole vault is the only event that i have won a state title in. I have won two titles indoor and two outdoor. After not being able to compete indoor i am very excited to compete in a state meet. Winning another pole vault title would be a great way to cap off senior year. The idea of having a chance to win in another event is very exciting to me. It's really making me hungry to keep working hard and make sure I am ready for state
MTXC: Your parents are also your coaches what is the dynamic like for you? Do you continue workouts when you get home or does it stop once ya leave the track?
DN: My dad is my coach for all of the different events that I do. He is always doing everything that he can to learn the most that he can about all of the different events. He knows how hard i work. and he works just as hard as a coach. Having your dad as a coach is a very different experience. We sometimes continue practice at home. mostly in the form of lifting workouts or film. I know that i defiantly wouldn't be where i am today track wise if it wasn't for him.
MTXC: You mentioned you will do New Balance Outdoor Nationals following the state meet. What are your goals there and then how excited are you to be going to URI to continue your running career?
DN: My goals for New Balance are pretty big. I hope that i will be able to place and to improve on my pr from the decathlons i did last summer. i am very excited to attend the university of Rhode Island next year. I think that its a great fit for me and that its a place where I can be very successful both in the classroom and on the track.
Personal Records- 110mH - 15.59
- 300mH - 42.07
- High Jump (in) - 6-4
- High Jump - 6-3.5
- Javelin - 158-10
- Pole Vault (in) - 14-9
- Pole Vault - 14-7
- Triple Jump (in) - 42-6.75
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