Athlete of the Week: Thomas Reives

This week’s Athlete of the Week is senior Mechanical Engineer Thomas Reives. Thomas is a four year member of the track and field team and three year member of the football team. He is a two time conference champion capturing the Heartland Colegiate Athletic Conference’s triple title in 2007 and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference’s high jump title in 2006. He was named second-team Academic All-American in 2007 and ranked 13th nationally in the high jump during the indoor season, missing qualifying for the NCAA Division III Nationals by the slim margin of .25 inches. He has career-best marks of 6’ 7 1/2” in the high jump, 42’ 11” in the triple jump, 6.63 seconds in the 55m dash and 43.07 seconds as a part of the 4x100m relay. In football Reives ranked second in the HCAC in receiving yards and led the leagues in average yards per catch.

Off the football field, Reives serves as the Vice-President of Alpha Tau Omega. He is also a member of the National Society of Black Engineers and a part of the Alpha Lambda Delta academic fraternity and Tau Beta Pi Honors Society. After graduation, he will begin his position at Eli Lilly and Company.



Rose Thorn: How long have you been in track?

Thomas Reives: I have been running track since I was in the 6th grade.



RT: Did you play football in high school?

TR: Yes. However, I was the punter and place kicker because I played soccer during the same season.



RT: What are some of your proudest accomplishments?

TR: I am most proud of my Academic All-American recognitions (football and track) and the 1st Team All HCAC selection in football. It is an enormous blessing to be recognized nationally for anything. And I am proud of the all conference selection because of how much I developed and how hard I worked to get better since I started sophomore year. Until this season, I had only caught five balls in my career and none in my first season. I can’t even explain in words how good it felt to help the team win games this season.



RT: Which sport do you like more, track or football?

TR: I have grown to like football more than track. I think it is more intense and players have the ability to be more creative. You never know what is going to happen each down. Plays rarely unfold as scripted, and that is exciting.



RT: Which events do you participate in?

TR: I have always participated in the high jump and short sprinting events. I did not sprint last year because I was focusing on high jump. Toward the end of the year I started triple jumping. This year I will be competing in all of the events mentioned above as well as a few of the relays.



RT: How do you think the track team as whole will do this year?

TR: I think that the men have a strong chance to compete and win conference this year if everyone stays healthy and works hard to get better throughout the season. The women will also do well this season. Even though they are few in numbers, our women always compete well.



RT: How has playing a varsity sport had an effect on your experience at Rose?

TR: Playing varsity sports has given me an opportunity escape from the homework, projects, reports, research, and everything that gets thrown at students throughout the workweek. When I am out on the field or track, nothing else matters but getting better, working hard, and having fun. Playing sports keeps me balanced, and its one of the reasons I decided to come to Rose.



RT: Do you plan on staying involved in track or football after graduation?

TR: I have one more year of eligibility in football, and I will be going to graduate school in a few years to pursue an MBA, so it is possible that I will give football another shot, but unlikely. I may get involved in a few adult basketball or soccer leagues immediately after graduation, but I think I will hang up my spikes at the end of this spring. I wouldn’t mind becoming a track coach at some point, but that will be many years from now.