Mayfield track and field stalwart Bobby Casey commits to Akron

It was a pretty good week for Bobby Casey.

The Mayfield senior unleashed a long jump of 23 feet, 11 inches to set the area record April 13 during the South Invitational. He also won 110-meter hurdles, was second in pole vault and turned in a sturdy 4x400 leg on a busy night.

Casey proudly walked around South sporting the hat of the school he’ll represent at the next level. The returning first-team News-Herald all-star committed this past week to compete for the University of Akron.

Casey has long held the hope of taking on decathlon once he gets to college with a diverse skill set across the facility, and that has now come to fruition.

“Oh, it’s awesome,” Casey said after the South Invitational. “Coach (Dennis) Mitchell is just an awesome guy. Akron is just a sweet atmosphere — I love jumping there. I was kind of (upset) indoor state got moved, but it’s an awesome place. They have a really good history in multi. It’s really where I want to go.

“It is truly awesome. Me and my dad talk about it every day. It’s just an awesome experience.”

Akron has had its share of familiar faces through the years, currently with Lake Catholic and all-time area great Matt Ludwig in pole vault as the reigning D-I NCAA outdoor national champion in the event.

The Zips have had six area athletes on their roster in the last five seasons — Ludwig, Kayla Whitlow (Euclid), Alex Bowers (Berkshire), Quentin Cieslinski (Madison) and Cierra Rembert (Euclid).

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