Abington star Nugent chooses Virginia Tech

When it was time for Abington's standout hurdler Leah Nugent to pick which of the many track scholarship offers she was going to accept, she turned to her older brother Jorrel for some advice.

He didn't tell her which college to pick - she had dozens of offers - but he did give her some sage advice.

"He told me that I had already made my choice, to go with it and not look at other schools simply because they had great track reputations," Nugent said Monday after dramatically revealing her decision at a news conference at the school.

The senior had reduced her choices to Virginia Tech, Ohio State and Texas A&M, whose sweatshirts adorned a table in the school lobby.

Leaning over the table, Nugent picked up the Virginia Tech sweatshirt, saying, "I'm taking my talents to Virginia Tech. I want to be a Hokie."

The reigning PIAA and Penn Relays 400-meter hurdles champion admitted she had been leaning toward Virginia Tech for a while but had kept it a secret - even from her parents - for some time. She shared it with her brother, who runs track for Millersville.

"That was a lot of stress," Nugent said of the recruiting process. "I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings."

In addition to Ohio State and Texas A&M, Nugent also turned down Pittsburgh, Maryland, Villanova, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State and Southern California.

"Every time I went somewhere for a visit, I wanted to go there," Nugent said. "I took my first [official] visit to Virginia Tech. I knew it was the best choice for me. I liked the athletics, the coach and the academics. I think it will accomplish my goals of becoming an Olympian and a dentist."

Karl Gaines, her sprint coach at Abington, said the 2012 Olympics may be a bit of a reach for Nugent, but he expects her to be ready for 2016.

"She's come a long way," he said. "When I first met her, she wasn't that coordinated, but she's worked on it. She's got that great desire to win."

At last year's Penn Relays, she beat out Jamaica's Ristananna Tracey to win the 400-meter hurdles in 59.42 seconds. At the PIAA championships just over a month later, Nugent fell in the 100 hurdles and was disqualified, but she came back to win the 300 hurdles in 41.46, tying the state record.

Nugent didn't start running competitively until middle school. She ran middle distances before switching to the hurdles. A key member of Abington's relay teams, Nugent teamed with Nicole Grasty, Jordan Matthews and Rachel Strother to run the fastest 4x200-meter relay this season by a Pennsylvania school. Two weeks ago at the Armory in New York City, the foursome covered the distance in 1 minute, 42.82 seconds.

Grasty, a longtime friend, encouraged Nugent to go out for track.