McGregor's A Moc

For me the whole process just seemed to naturally unfold in favor of Florida Southern. Coach Palmer first mentioned their interest in me during my junior track season, and thankfully, from the beginning I had a good connection to the school through Coach Strong and Bobby Ormsby. Over the summer, I went to Warren Willis Camp, a United Methodist Camp and Leesburg, FL, and met the Chaplain of Florida Southern, Pastor Tim, who spoke that week at camp. I really enjoyed listening to his sermons and stories. He told me a lot about the school and campus ministry, which was a big factor in my college decision. Luckily, Bobby ran with the FMHS team a lot over the summer and was able to answer questions and offer guidance as I considered different schools. Everything seemed to be pointing me in Florida Southern's direction. It started off as me gradually learning about the school, growing in admiration for it, then ended with me completely gung-ho about becoming a Moc. The best analogy I can use to describe the progression of my inclination toward the school is an object approaching a black hole. As the blackhole's gravity pulls the object in, it encircles the black hole and gradually gets pulled towards it, but it can still interact with other celestial bodies and can still be influenced by the gravity of other large objects. As the object approaches the event horizon, it gets relentlessly pulled into the center. I felt as if my admiration for Florida Southern gradually increased because of all the influences I had pointing me towards the school, then it evolved into adoration all at once after visiting the school and meeting the team.

What other schools did you consider/visit?

 

I took a visit to Florida State over the summer. It was awesome. I considered going there for most of high school, but luckily I now know that Florida Southern is a better fit for me. It really just came down to team dynamics and where I would be on the team. FSU has an elite program to say the least, and if I was going into a program like that it would be questionable as to whether I would make an impact as a freshman, or even make an impact at all. I wanted to be involved with a program that I would be making a difference in from the beginning so I would stay focused on progressing as a individual and a team. In college, there are countless temptations and distractions tugging and competing for athletes' attention, regardless of where you go, but I felt like a smaller environment that I would be immediately impacting would hold me more accountable and make me less prone to veering from my ultimate goal (world domination).

 

Were there any other factors that sold you on FSC?

 

The campus is amazing. According to several pamphlets I've been given, it's been ranked the most beautiful campus in the United States multiple times, but pictures don't do it justice. Also they have a pre-physical therapy program there that I'm really interested in. Like I said before, the chaplain is a really cool dude. One of the little things that really solidified my interest there was receiving a hand-written letter from the admissions councelor at Florida Southern.

What was your relationship with Coach Martucci and the rest of the guys? I know you mentioned you were close with Bobby Ormsby.

 

My sophomore year, Bobby, Ace (Brown), Tyler (Bennett), and I ran a lot of long runs together on the weekends. The last two summers, Bobby came down to Fort Myers and ran with the FMHS guys, so we've gotten pretty close over the past few years.  Coach Ben has been very friendly and welcoming through the entire recruitment process. He's actually the same age as my brother, Ben, so I find it easy to speak and relate with him.

How did the new November signing day impact your decision? How does it feel to finally get this done so you can focus on the last two weeks of cross country and your senior track season?

 

The upcoming signing date didn't necessarily influence my preference towards FSC. I knew that FSC was the best fit for me before I knew what the date was. However, it is helpful that I can relieve the pressure early on. Now I can focus on training and staying healthy for the state series and post season.

What are you looking forward to most about being a Moc and what are the future goals?
 

I'm excited to be training with a group of guys that will push me to the next level. Florida Southern's team is teeming with talent and potential, so I'm looking forward to climbing my way up to a pivotal position on varsity. Having some teammates to work off of in front of me, to the side of me and behind me will be a refreshing, yet challenging, change in training. Time-wise, I hope to dip into the 25:40s.

 

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