BIDDEFORD — Biddeford’s Keila Grigware will compete in track and field instead of basketball when she enters college in the fall.
Grigware, a senior star athlete for the Tigers, said Thursday that she will attend the University of New Hampshire on a partial Division-I athletic scholarship and a partial financial aid package. She will throw the javelin for the Wildcats.
“I really feel like this is a challenge for me,” Grigware said. “This is a relatively new sport for me and I want to see if I can reach my full potential and see how far I can go with their coaching. I’m pretty excited.”
It was a hard choice for Grigware, she said. She has played basketball competitively for most of her life and had to choose between pursuing basketball in college or track.
She said she had narrowed her two schools to UNH and the University of New England. If she had chosen UNE she would’ve played basketball.
“It was a difficult choice to give up basketball,” she said. “I have played the sport for a long time, but I want to explore my potential in track.”
Grigware is one of five Tigers to score more than 1,000 points in her basketball career.
She currently, however, ranks top 10 in the nation in the javelin, a sport she started only two years ago.
“I think it’s a good decision for her,” Biddeford Athletics Director Dennis Walton said. “She’s a good athlete and I think she will be successful with track. I know it was tough for her to not pursue basketball, but UNH is a good school and we’re proud of her.”
Grigware will sign her letter of intent next Friday at Biddeford High School.
She said she will throw the shot put during indoor track. She joins Thornton Academy star thrower Abbey Huntress, who also will be attending UNH in the fall on a track scholarship to throw the shot put.
Grigware said she wants to study athletic training.
“That’s the plan right now,” she said. “Who knows? That could change.”
— Contact Al Edwards at 282-1535, ext. 317.
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