Another Panther athlete has signed with a Division 1 college program.
In her time competing for the Franklin High School track team, Hannah Angel has been one of the program’s brightest stars. After three years of reaching new heights in both the high jump and her career, Angel will compete for UNC Charlotte next year.
“It’s definitely a huge honor,” said Angel after signing her college offer. “A lot of work and hours from coaches, from my family, and me has gone into this. It’s definitely a big stress reliever to already have my decision and know where I’m going, and know that it’s such a great school. I’m very excited.”
At a ceremony celebrating Angel’s signing in the Drake Enterprises gym Nov. 30, dozens of friends and family gathered to congratulate UNCC’s newest 49er. Between receiving well wishers and taking photos with various combinations of guests, the FHS 100-meter hurdle record holder shared what made UNCC stand out from the many colleges vying for her talents.
“Actually I was blessed to be able to have my unofficial visit there in February after the state track meet,” she said. “With corona right now, [Division] I schools aren’t allowed to have visits, so thankfully I was able to see the campus. The coach took me around the campus, and he’s so nice. He has a really stable team going, and he’s been there for like 16-plus years. I think it’ll be a great environment, and it’s a good place for me to grow where I’ll be challenged, but I also can have a spot on the team for my talents to be able to help them out.”
After three years of rigorous training aimed at securing a D-I scholarship, few at last week’s gathering were surprised to see Angel sign with UNC Charlotte. During that time few people have had a closer look at the senior’s skills than longtime FHS coach Tom Westbrook.
“This will be my 49th year coaching high school athletics, and you just don’t find that type of mentality out of most young people this day and time,” he said. “She knows where she’s going. She knows what she wants to achieve by the time she gets there. She does a lot of sacrificing as a young lady in today’s society – she goes to the track whether anybody else is there or not, and she works out. She does her homework whether she feels like it or she doesn’t. … She’s been a mentor to a lot of these young ladies that are on cross-country and our outdoor and indoor track teams.”
In his many years coaching football and track for FHS, Westbrook has seen many athletes come and go, but few have been as successful at their craft as Angel. Hannah’s mother, Jennifer, has also had a front-row seat for her efforts.
“When [FHS athletic director Blair] King reached out about a year and a half ago, he said, ‘let’s get your name out there,’” she said. “She had some other schools talk to her – she talked to Virginia Tech, UNC Wilmington [and others] – but Charlotte was the one school we were able to go visit. It was the indoor state track meet weekend and we went on a Sunday, and the coach is amazing.”
In track and field director Bob Olesen’s 20 years with UNC Charlotte, the program has brought home 28 combined indoor and outdoor Conference USA titles and produced 18 collegiate All-Americans. Although Angel’s specialties are hurdles and the high jump, due to her versatility Olesen has asked Angel to represent the school in a variety of events.
“When he like told me he wanted me to sign he said I’m probably going to do the heptathlon,” said Hannah. “That means that every meet I’m going to do long jump, high jump, 100-meter hurdles, 200-meter run, 800-meter run, javelin and shot put.”
Throughout Angel’s high school career, she has been focused on securing a Division I track and field scholarship. She has been so determined, in fact, that this past year she elected not to continue playing volleyball or running cross-country for FHS in order to refine her skills on the track. As friends, coaches and Hannah’s mom took turns at the signing sharing anecdotes about his daughter’s character and work ethic, Jeremy Angel found himself too choked up to speak (Jennifer likewise had some difficulty). When asked for his thoughts a few minutes later, Angel said he was proud to finally see his daughter’s work pay off.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s a culmination of hard work. Seeing all these people around her, that’s pretty cool.”