Pittsburgh, PA –When Alex McCune was finishing up as a senior at North Hills High School in the spring of 2011, he believed he had the ability and the discipline to become a decathlete on the collegiate level. The problem was finding a college where he could hone his skills as a track athlete and develop himself for the 10-event regimen. “I wasn’t very recruitable out of high school,” said McCune, a 20-year-old Ross resident. “So, I contacted Akron, and they responded and I went there as a walk-on.” If Zips’ track coach Dennis Mitchell initially thought he was taking a chance on McCune, it didn’t take him long to change his outlook. That’s because McCune has flourished as a versatile athlete for the Zips. At the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., earlier this month, McCune earned All-American honors by placing sixth in the heptathlon (which is seven events, the indoor version of the decathlon). He piled up 5,837 points. The top eight finishers earned All-American honors. The other honorees were from Duke, Georgia, Arkansas, Oregon, Wisconsin, Buffalo and UCLA. En route to his All-American effort, McCune won the pole vault with an effort of 17 feet, 101/2 inches, which is the record for Americans competing in the heptathlon. “You could tell he had a lot of coordination,” said Mitchell, who is in his 19th year as Akron’s track coach. “He said he wanted to be a decathlete, and he began to figure out the events quickly.”
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/college/2014/03/27/North-Hills-grad-an-All-American/stories/201403270100#ixzz2xB8gF1JE
