Pressure makes diamonds: Grover has eyes set on highest prize at OHSAA state track meet
LUCAS — Diamonds are formed when carbon deposits are subjected to high temperatures and extreme pressure.
You could say that is exactly how great athletes are made. The ones who put themselves in heated situations and welcome the pressure to succeed are usually the ones who come out on top of the pack and achieve greatness.
Lucas senior Shelby Grover is the prime example.
Grover heads into this weekend's Ohio High School Athletic Association state track and field meet as a four-event qualifier and the favorite to walk away with three and possibly four state championships. She comes in with the fastest seed time in the 100 and 300 hurdles, the third-best height in the high jump despite jumping 5-foot-6 in the district tournament which is better than any seed height at state, and the second longest distance in the long jump by just half an inch.
Temperatures are supposed to approach 90 degrees both days so the first element to create a diamond is taken care of. The pressure part, well, Grover has that, too.
"I still have that pressure and I am still going to put pressure on myself because I put high expectations on myself and I want to achieve a lot," Grover said. "At the same time, this is my last high school sporting event ever and I want to make sure I live in the moment and enjoy every last second of it because, after this weekend, it is all over."
So the pressure from within to claim state gold is what drives Grover. She wants a state championship so bad she can taste it and it is that internal pressure and high expectations of herself that have helped her reach this point. It also took some reigning in. Grover is self-driven and wants to go 100% in everything all of the time. If she isn't training as hard as she possibly could, she feels like she is wasting an opportunity to get better.
If she is not pushing her body to the limit, she feels as though it was a wasted workout. If she isn't constantly busy, she knows someone out there is outworking her at that very moment. But for Lucas coach Spencer Adams, his job was to manage that pressure and help Grover understand that reaching the ultimate goal doesn't mean she has to work herself to death.
"We talk about goals and look at where she wants to be," Adams said. "In the middle of the year, we stopped and talked about what her goals are and what it will take to achieve them. We took it week by week and it was kind of eye-opening for her because she realized that if she took it easy one week, it wasn't going to hurt her in June. Or if she went crazy hard in a week and made things worse, she wouldn't get the opportunity to run in June. She grasped that idea better this year because she always wants to go 100% all the time."
A super support system
Grover quickly learned that lesson at the midway point of the season when she was suffering from plantar fasciitis in her foot which caused extreme pain and the inability to do the things she normally does on the track. So, she did what she vowed to never do and took it easy for a while to rest the injured foot so she could come back stronger than ever as the postseason rolled around. That didn't mean she was going to miss any meets in the meantime, but she had to make sure she was 100% heading into the most important meets of her career.
She overcame the injury in large part because of her support system. Grover has four siblings, three of which have left storied legacies at Lucas High School. Her brother, Jeb, was the all-time leading rusher in the football program's history. Her oldest sister, Jessie, is the basketball program's all-time leading scorer and her older sister, Jamie, is the assists queen in hoops. Her younger brother, Bobby, is a sophomore who earned postseason honors in baseball the past two years and is always a fan favorite among Cub basketball fans.
Her mom, Kathy, is a varsity basketball coach and never misses a meet. Her grandmother, Mary Ann Alt, never misses anything any of her grandchildren compete in.
"I talked to my siblings every Sunday when they come home for a family dinner and they are always there for me," Grover said. "My grandma and parents are always there for me. Though every injury, they keep me positive and are always there to give me whatever I need. I am very spoiled by them and I am very thankful to have them in my life. My coaches are amazing at helping me through the ups and downs."
Grover has countless coaches and trainers who have helped her get to where she is today, but there is one mentor she found just this year that helped her through one of the darkest times in her high school career, Ontario track legend Rachel Miller who won the Division II state title in the 300 hurdles during her days as a Warrior.
"A month ago, I started having some foot problems with plantar fasciitis and I just was in a dark place believing that my track career was over and there was no way I was ever going to come back," Grover said. "So, I was laying in bed and asked if I could call her because I got her number during a meet earlier in the season that she was coaching in. I called her and we talked for like two hours and she helped me so much. My thought was squarely on what if I don't win a state title. And she was like, 'What if you do and everything pays off?' She made me realize I was going at it with a weaker mindset when I should be going into every meet believing I was the baddest person there. She gave me so much confidence and helped me so much."
It was that phone call that set in motion a postseason that included four district championships and three regional titles with a runner-up finish to her credit. Adams continues to be amazed at how Grover, a strong-willed athlete in her own right, seeks out support in many different ways and embraces a journey that takes helping hands along the way to achieve the ultimate goal.
"The best part is, she goes out of her way to find that support," Adams said. "She has her own hurdle and long jump trainer that she sees 12 months out of the year. She has a lot of natural gifts and then on top of that, she has people looking out for her and getting her to where she needs to be. She is doing all of the right things."
A 'grand' achievement
Grover has done the right things her entire career and it has led to some grand achievements. But one more is likely to happen this weekend at the state track meet. Grover is a 1,000-point scorer in basketball and has more than 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in volleyball.
With just 15.5 points at this weekend's state track meet, Grover will score 1,000 points in her track career which is insane when you consider she didn't have a freshman season that was canceled due to COVID-19.
"It would be pretty cool because I got 1,000 in basketball and in volleyball, but I honestly didn't even know that was even a thing in track," Grover said. "Without my freshman year, that is pretty surprising to be that close. My goal every meet is to always go out and score 40 points, but I never really thought about how much that would add up over the course of a career. My sophomore year, I never really got 40 points, but last year and this year, I had quite a few so that racks up pretty quickly. It is pretty special."
Adams was out to dinner with his father when the topic of coaching track and with that Shelby Grover, came up. Adams told his father about Grover's 1,000 milestones, Adams thought it would be funny if Grover scored 1,000 points in track, too.
Turns out, she is very close.
"I don't know if anyone has ever really kept track like that," Adams said. "I just thought it would be crazy if she scored 1,000 in track and my dad said she probably already has. So, I went back and calculated it all up and she is only 15.5 away and what is more impressive is she has done it in only three years."
With four events, Grover is a lock to achieve the milestone.
A lasting legacy
When thinking of the greatest individual athletes to ever come out of Richland County, everyone's No. 1 is always subjective. There are athletes who went on to have professional careers and some who are on their way to the big show.
And now, Grover has to be in that conversation. Three All-Ohio honors in basketball and two in volleyball. She is a four-event All-Ohioan in track with three of those coming just last year. In all, she owns nine All-Ohio honors and if she can find herself on the podium in all four events at this year's state track meet, she would finish with 13 All-Ohio honors. Considering she has 11 varsity letters, it would have been 12 if her freshman track season wasn't canceled, she could leave with more All-Ohio honors than varsity letters.
She owns a ton of individual school records. Her legacy as a high school athlete is already one that would be tough to match for anyone.
But for Grover, she is defiant about adding a state championship to her long list of accomplishments. To her, that would create a legacy she could be happy with.
"I was talking to my brother Jeb about it back when my foot was really hurting," Grover said. "I just told him I want to win a state title so bad, but he really put things into perspective for me. Sure, it would be the icing on top of the cake, but he told me that I am already achieved so much. But at the same time, one of my goals in life is to win a state title so I am going for it."
And Adams will be right there to help her.
"Her legacy is already set in stone," Adams said. "After state last year, she was disappointed with taking third in the 300 hurdles and it took the wind out of her sales but at the same time, it kicked her into gear over the summer. She is very capable of winning at least one state title, but in the end, if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen and that is not going to define her as an athlete. She may look back in 20 years and think a state title would be cool, but her legacy as a high school athlete is already one that had her in the conversation as the greatest high school athlete to ever come out of Richland County."
A clear mindset
While a state championship and a desire to take a spot atop the podium in front of the massive crowd at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium is a driving force, Grover is taking a different mental approach into the weekend. Something she didn't do in previous years.
"I am just going in with the mindset of controlling what you can control," Grover said. "The past couple of years, I went into the state meet just completely freaked out about it. Normally, the week leading up to state would be full of mental breakdowns and full of stress and it would always make things worse. But now, I am just controlling what I can, staying healthy, stretching and just doing everything I can do to prepare myself. I will not be looking at the heat sheets. I don't care what everyone else is running and in the end, it doesn't matter. As long as I reach finals day and do what I know I can do, I will be happy with the results.
"I am just going in with the mindset that you will concur, you will be given the power and the strength through God to do special things so all I have to do is go out and do it. That is the singular thought process for the entire weekend."
Regardless of the results, Grover has already made herself, her family, coaches, friends and the entire village of Lucas proud not only because of what she accomplished in athletics but because of the person she is and what she represents as well as the example she has set for future generations of Lucas athletes.
"I have never had anyone like her," Adams said. "I have coached some good athletes and went to school with some great ones, but Shelby tops them all. I have never seen someone so well-rounded and driven in everything she does. It doesn't stop with sports. She is driven by her school work and will graduate with an associate's degree and she pretty much works a full-time job. She is crazy."
Crazy, driven, determined, dedicated, call it what you will, but a diamond is about to shine this weekend in Columbus.
A diamond named Shelby Grover.
jfurr@gannett.com
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Twitter: @JakeFurr11
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Lucas's Shelby Grover will compete in four events at OHSAA state track and field meet
