By Kyle Daubs

Brock Davee is going to Charleston. 

Just not the one a few miles away. 

Instead, Davee will make the trip 875 miles away after committing to run cross country and track for the College of Charleston, which is based in Charleston, South Carolina. The College of Charleston competes at the NCAA Division I level and participates in the Colonial Athletic Association. 

“I chose College of Charleston because it had everything I have looked for in a school,” said Davee. “The coaches and guys on the team were awesome. It felt like a family with big goals they wanted to achieve. It was also huge that this school could offer marine biology for me since I want to pursue a career in that field. Lastly, the whole school atmosphere was amazing. The people all over were so nice and Charleston has plenty for me to do around there, including the beach.”

Davee said that a few other schools were interested in him with most based in Illinois and Indiana. His top choice was Indiana State before choosing Charleston, based on what the school offered for academics. 

In the end, pursuing a career in marine biology is what separated this school from the rest. 

“The way I found out about this school was I just started searching for coastal schools with a marine biology program and tried to reach out to them,” said Davee. “I finally lucked out since it was late for recruiting and Coach Bailey emailed me back and eventually got me down for a visit during March, and I just loved everything about the school.”

Davee was a three-time All-Apollo Conference runner. Davee qualified for the IHSA state meet as a junior. The meet was held unofficially through Shazam where he finished 62nd overall. 

As a senior, Davee ran a season-best 14 minutes, 54.8 seconds and won five races, including the IHSA Regional Championship at Olney East Richland. At the Sectional Davee placed seventh before having his best race of the season at the IHSA Class 2A State Finals, where he ran a 15:13.6 to finish 13th and claim All-State honors. 

Davee is currently competing in his senior track season. He is already an indoor state qualifier in the 4×800-meter relay and the 1600-meter run. He hopes to make state this season, but will then be grateful that he gets to run an additional four years. 

“I can’t really thank my teammates who practice with me every day enough,” said Davee. “All my coaches, even the ones who weren’t cross country and track, all my friends, and my family who helped me with absolutely everything too. Being a college runner means way too much. I guess it means the work I did during my high school years finally paid off. I get to keep being a kid for four more years and keep doing sports. It also gives me an opportunity to create another family I didn’t already have.”