Three of the fastest fellows on campus had a fresh reason to celebrate Monday afternoon at North Augusta High School, as they confirmed their plans to attend college as athletes with scholarship help.
Heading north will be Mandre Ogletree, to play football for Limestone College, in Gaffney; and heading west, to Augusta University, will be Tyrese Smalley, for track, and Ryan Gallagher, for track and cross-country. Brian Thomas, the North Augusta athletic director and head football coach, noted that this school year the Yellow Jackets had 28 students confirm their plans to play at the next level in various sports.
Limestone may be familiar territory for Ogletree, a wide receiver, as his older brother, Manny, is preparing for his junior year there, as a defensive back for the Saints.
Zach Williams, an assistant coach at North Augusta, commented, "I think the biggest thing for Mandre is, he's got a strong work ethic, and Mandre's always been a little under-sized, but what gets him through is that work ethic."
He said the wide receiver, now listed at 170 and 5-foot-10, made great strides between his sophomore and junior years and did the same in preparing for his senior season, although a knee injury took him out for almost his entire senior season. Coaches, however, recognized the talent and still came calling.
The younger Ogletree said Limestone, felt like "home away from home," and said he looks forward to the chance to compete with his brother. He said he plans to study sports management.
Smalley credited John Kucela, the Jackets' head coach for track and field, with doing most of the work to connect him with Augusta University. This is Smalley's second year in track participation, and he owns the school record in the triple jump, having broken it as a junior and again as a senior.
PHOTO CREDIT: Bill Bengtson/The Aiken Standard
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