Jackson's Jack Jeffers signs NLI with Troy

Unlike many high school athletes in their senior who wait for the offers from colleges to pile up, Jack Jeffers took it upon himself to reach out to the right school for him.

In front of a handful of family members, friends and coaches, the Jackson senior and reigning All-Missourian boys cross county runner of the year made it clear where the perfect fit for him was when he signed a National Letter of Intent at Jackson High School on Wednesday to continue his cross country and track career at the Division I level with Troy University.

"The campus and the town itself is really beautiful and that drew me in, but I wanted to go out and find the perfect place for me," Jeffers said about what led him to sign with the Trojans. "My dream school was Satnford, but I figured I'd take the pressure off myself and just go out and find a school that I wanted to go to and that wanted me. I still really enjoyed Troy, so I committed there and I'm happy with it."

Jeffers chose Troy despite invitations to walk-on to other schools, including Arkansas, Missouri and a couple Ivy League schools. But a comfortable climate and a full-ride scholarship made his decision that much easier.

"Being in Southern Alabama, it's really warm there, and I don't like winter, so that's another thing," Jeffers said. "You add in that I got a full-ride academically, so not having to pay for college and being able to run, which is what I love to do, it was really a no-brainer."

Jeffers wrapped up his senior campaign as a three-time winner of the Jackson Invitational, a SEMO North Conference champion and capped off his high school career with a 22nd-place finish at the state meet. Now as he steps into the next chapter of his cross country career, Jeffers will reunite with former Jackson standout Calvin Lysell.

The two became friends during their three seasons at Jackson. When Lysell graduated and got a scholarship to attend Troy, the two stayed in touch. During that span, Jeffers interest to also join the Trojans continued to grow until he reached out to first-year Troy coach Elliot Blount.

"Calvin found it on a recruiting website and neither of us had really heard of it being a cross country school before. I was still looking at colleges myself at this point, so I emailed the coach and he was interested in me and I told him I was interested in the school," Jeffers said. "[Lysell] was happy about it, but the whole time he just wanted me to find a school that I was happy with, which did happen to be Troy. Both of us knew I wasn't just going there for him or anything, even though he is a really good friend of mine. He wanted me to find a school that I love as much as he loves Troy. And I think I love Troy the same amount."

Jeffers is hoping Blount, who was a runner at Columbia University before being hired at Troy, will continue to make him a better runner. He said the biggest challenge in competing at the college level is doubling his mileage in just his fourth year as a competitive cross country runner.

"First of all you go from 5K to 8K, and if you make it to regionals and nationals, that's a 10K. So eventually I'll be doubling my racing distance," Jeffers said. "Since I haven't been running for that long, I've never been able to get up into so much mileage, so I'll have to make that transition. But just being at the college level, the athletes are so much better. I'm not going to be the best on my team anymore, which I'm excited for, you know. I get to get my butt kicked in practice, and really get it kicked in some meets. I'm excited for that because it will just make me better and better for four more years."

Other area signings

• Notre Dame's leading scorer and 6-foot-7 forward Quinn Poythress signed his National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Missouri S&T.
• Jackson's Braden Wendel will continue his basketball career after signing with Lyon College.
• Scott City's Austin Spriggs signed to play at Illinois College, competing in both track and football.
• A lifetime of playing soccer together won't end just yet for Perryville's Luke Schlichting, Matt Moran and Collin Stief after they signed with Jefferson College earlier this year.
• After finishing his high school career with a state qualification in wrestling, Notre Dame's Noah Huff will continue to grapple for the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.