Biography
By Jim Hague
Corey Graves grew up just a few blocks from the Rutgers-Newark campus, but never really envisioned himself attending school there.
“I used to walk by the campus every day,” said Graves, who commuted daily from Newark to Summit to attend Oratory Prep in Summit. “I took the train every day to a good school like Oratory and that got me ready for college.”
But Graves was first interested in competing in track and field at the NCAA Division I level, in particular, at LaSalle University in Philadelphia.
“But they didn’t offer me anything,” Graves said.
However, the track and field coaching staff at R-N, headed by Juan Edney, was interested in Graves, but at first, they believed Graves was strictly a hurdler.
“I thought he was coming to us as a high hurdler and an intermediate hurdler,” Edney said. “But we didn’t think he was that great of a hurdler. So we told him that he might be doing other events.”
Graves didn’t mind.
“I ran other events in high school, so it didn’t matter to me,” Graves said. “I was willing to try other things.”
So the first thing Edney had the freshman newcomer try was cross country. Sure, it happens every day that an athlete transcends himself from a hurdler to a long distance runner.
“We started him off in cross country, just to see what he could do,” Edney said. “I noticed that he had a little bit of endurance and toughness. In today’s day and age, showing toughness is rare. Most kids find excuses to get out of doing something they don’t necessarily want to do. I respected Corey for wanting to give it a try.”
“I had run cross country in high school my junior year,” Graves said. “So I knew what to expect. The distances were a little longer, but I could handle it.”
Graves more than handled the rigors of long distance running. In fact, he even bested some of the more established and experienced Scarlet Raider runners by season’s end, competing in three events.
“I was definitely surprised by that,” Graves said. “I basically did it with no long distance training. But it definitely got me in a very competitive state.”
It also allowed Edney to realize that he had something special brewing with Graves.
“I told him that when indoor season began, I might want to put him in the 400 (meter dash) and the 800 (meter run),” Edney said. “The kid never flinched. He was diligent there. He was also a hard worker in the weight room and never missed a day. We knew that we just had to get him stronger.”
At the Scarlet Raiders’ first event of the indoor season last Sunday, the CTC Relay Carnival on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Ct., Edney told Graves what his assignment of the day was going to be.
“I told Corey that we were going to try him in the 800 (meter) leg of the sprint medley relay and then the 4-x-400 relay,” Edney said. “He said, `OK.’ And that was it. He didn’t ask questions. He just wanted to do it. I wish I had 100 kids like him.”
Graves ran a 2:03 split in the 800-meter run of the sprint medley relay, which was 11 seconds faster than any other 800-meter time he ever posted.
“I was very impressed with that time, because my previous best was 2:14,” Graves said. “I dropped a lot of time. I basically had been training for the 400 (meter dash), so I had no idea that I could run that in the 800.”
“When he got the baton, he was moving so smoothly,” Edney said. “He also looked like he had a lot left. I couldn’t believe his time. It’s such a huge jump from what he had before. And he didn’t look at all tired.”
Graves also ran a 51.9 split in the mile relay.
“Coach Edney is a phenomenal coach and without him, I wouldn’t have been able to drop my time like I did,” Graves said. “Knowing he has so much faith in me means a lot to me. I want to perform well for him.”
Edney believes that he has a future star in the making.
“I’m very excited with what he can do,” Edney said. “He’s working hard and very dedicated. He’s making the adjustment to college life. But he’s definitely been one of our most pleasant surprises. He has untapped potential. I won’t be shocked if he’s not a qualifier for the nationals by the time he’s a junior.”
Graves was pleased to hear about Edney’s words of praise.
“I hope I can fulfill that,” Graves said about Edney’s claim of becoming a national qualifier. “If I keep working hard, I’m pretty sure I will.”
Graves is enjoying life as a resident student, living in the dorms and capturing the full effect of college life in Newark.
“I am living on campus and I’m enjoying it a lot,” Graves said. “I’m making a lot of friends and I’ve met a lot of nice people. It’s better than living at home. It’s one of the main reasons why I wanted to stay on campus.”
Graves has yet to officially declare a major, but he’s leaning toward either history or criminal justice. Someday, he aspires to become an FBI agent.
“I like the public service aspect and I know how dangerous it can be out there, especially coming from Newark,” Graves said. “I don’t want others to suffer through crime. I want to make a difference.”
Just like he’s already made a difference with the R-N track and field program.
