Troy senior pole vaulter commits to Ohio State

“When I met with the athletic and academic advisors, I knew there’d be a lot of support in place to help me balance my academics with my athletics,” Fong said. “That was what came first. On the vaulting side of things, I already knew that I love the campus and the school and then as soon as I met coach (Richard) Ebin, who’s the vaulting coach, and the rest of the girls who currently pole vault there, I instantly felt a sense of home and family and felt like I fit in with our team really well. I knew that it would be like a good competitive environment to push me to be the best that I can be.”

Fong finished seventh in the vault (11-0) at the Division I regional meet last season and wants to qualify for state next spring and break the Troy record (12-4).

Fong’s family has a history at Ohio State. Her dad David Fong is an Ohio State graduate. Her cousin Chris Fong, a Troy graduate, was a walk-on defensive linemen with the football team and was on the sideline when Ohio State beat Oregon for the national championship in 2015.

Sophie grew up a Buckeye fan and dreamed of competing for Ohio State.

“I didn’t really think that it would ever be a reality until honestly pretty recently,” she said. “My entire family, everyone is just huge Ohio State fans — especially my grandparents. The first thing that all my aunts and uncles said was, ‘Your grandparents would have been so proud of you. All they ever wanted was for one of their kids to be an Ohio State athlete.’”

Fong has the grades (4.4 GPA), test scores (34 ACT) and vaulting numbers (a personal record of 12 feet) to interest a number of colleges. She visited Dayton, Miami and Cincinnati among other schools.

“There were so many amazing schools out there,” she said, “and I loved all the coaches. So it was really hard. But at the end of the day, I had to follow my gut and I felt academically Ohio State was the best fit for me.”