Scott Swanson
The past year has been a bit of a whirlwind for Sweet Home High School senior Casey Tow, and signing a letter of intent to compete in track for the U.S. Naval Academy last week was just one more chapter in a story that’s gotten more dramatic as it progresses.
After finishing second in the 400 meters at the state track meet last May, Tow decided to give the decathlon at try and wound up winning the USATF Junior Olympic regional title in that event, then went on to place third in the Junior Olympic nationals three weeks later.
“It’s been quite a journey,” Tow acknowledged as he prepared to sign his letter in a ceremony held Thursday, Feb. 13, in the high school library.
He said he’s always been interested in the military and heard from Navy Track and Field Assistant Coach Joe Delgado last summer as he was prepared to go to nationals.
“It didn’t really hit home until their coach reached out to me,” Tow said.
Sweet Home High School Coach Dakotah Keys was a big key to his connection with the Naval Academy, he said. Keys competed at the University of Oregon previous to Delgado, of Ontario, who won the Sweet Home Decathlon as a junior in 2012 before moving on to Oregon, from 2014-17, where he competed for Jamie Cook, now head coach at Navy.
“I’ve got a lot to thank for Coach Keys,” Tow said, noting that the two have spent many hours together on the track and in the weight room. “He’s got a lot of connections and he’s been with me the whole way, working out with me and being in that training group. He’s just been a huge, huge impact on my life.”
He said he visited the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in October and he interviewed with both state Rep. Peter DeFazio and Sen. Jeff Merkley, both of whom gave him recommendations.
“That was cool,” he said.
Once in the Navy, he plans to look into nuclear engineering “which seems really interesting,” he said.
But he’s also gotten interested in cyber terrorism defense, which might be another option.
Keys said it wasn’t hard to sell Tow to the coaching staff at Navy.
“The big point for Joe, particularly, in just listening and talking to Casey, was just hearing what kind of person he is.
“He’s such an amazing young adult. He’s made a lot of hard decisions. He’s devoted himself to training, staying focused on school. The kid doesn’t drink, doesn’t do tobacco, doesn’t do drugs, not going to parties. He’s devoted to family, his faith and that’s something they wanted at the academy – people who have honesty, integrity, hard-working people. That sums up Casey.”
Keys said he called “a lot” of coaches and Tow said he’d heard from local schools Northwest Christian and George Fox, and had talked to coaches at Oregon and UCLA.
“It was a complete undersell, talking about Casey and they’ve realized it,” Keys said. “He’s such a great athlete and great person. He’s going to be great addition to any program.”
Tow’s progress in the decathlon has been head-turning in a sport in which most competitors have been involved for years. Tow trained for less than two months before placing third in the junior nationals and his score was the 13th highest last year of all U.S. decathletes.
“Athletically, he’s so far from what he’s capable of,” said Keys, who was a national junior placewinner himself in the decathlon and earned All-American status five times at the University of Oregon, winning the Pac-12 title three times and finishing third as a senior in the NCAA national championships.
“It’s just going to be awesome to watch. He’s going to be a go-to person for them. He’s going to go right into the Patriots League and I think he’s going to be able to score points for the team.”
He told the crowd at the cere-mony that simply being admitted to the Naval Academy is an achievement, as the school averages over 16,000 applications annually and admits 8 percent of that.
“We’re all extremely proud of Casey for his successes, but most importantly, the characteristics he has as a person that have made him successful,” Keys said, noting that the two have become “really good friends.”
“He’s made some of his life’s hardest choices over the last year. He’s given up time with family, friends, other sport ventures and memories with those coaches to dedicate himself to track and field and the decathlon. He’s such an extremely humble and hardworking individual who not only loves his family but, most importantly, loves the Lord.”
He credited Tow’s parents, Dan and Michelle Tow “who’ve made Casey what he is today.”
Tow thanked his parents as well, along with siblings Ally and Justin Tow, both college athletes themselves, calling them his “biggest supporters.”