BC's Hagberg chooses Cornell

The Ivy League is on Burlington Central track standout Dan Hagberg's immediate radar screen.

Hagberg said Monday night he is almost 100 percent certain he will attend Cornell University later this year and run track at the Ithaca, N.Y., school.

Ivy League schools do not give out athletic scholarships.

"Unless something happens, I'm going to Cornell," said Hagberg. "Academics were a pretty big part of it there. I love the coaches and it's beautiful up there. The team has good chemistry. They have a good time together."

Hagberg, who plans on majoring in business, said he also visited Notre Dame, Indiana and Princeton. He visited Cornell during this past football season.

"I got a letter from Cornell awhile ago and filled out the questionnaire and the same with Princeton," said Hagberg. "The next thing you know I'm going out there and visiting. It's pretty exciting. Cornell seemed like the best fit for me."

Hagberg, an all-Big Northern East selection in football this past season, is a 2-time Class AA state qualifier in the 300 intermediate hurdles. He qualified for state in both the 300 and 110 high hurdles last year as a junior after winning sectional titles in both events. He competed in 4 events at the state meet last year (400 and 800 relays as well).

Hagberg, a member of the high honor roll at Central, is the school-record holder in the 300 hurdles and a member of the school-record 400 and 800 relay teams.

"Dan is a very deserving kid, no question," said Central coach Mike Schmidt, who said Hagberg turned down a Division I athletic scholarship from another institution in favor of Cornell. "When I talked to coaches about him, and I've talked to a lot of coaches about him, it was really easy to talk about him. He's a great student and a great athlete and is the absolute combination of what you want at the Division I level. It was no mystery why so many schools were after Dan. Cornell fit him academically and athletically."

Hagberg would be Central's fourth boys track athlete to compete at the Division I level in recent times, joining the likes of Chris Wesson (Eastern Illinois), Dan Roby (Eastern Illinois) and Brian Krantz (Missouri-Kansas City/Illinois State).

And there may very well be a fifth Central athlete joining that group. Senior Ryan Phebus, Hagberg's best friend, has, according to Schmidt, drawn interest from Iowa and Iowa State. Schmidt said Phebus has taken official visits to Iowa State and UW-Milwaukee and Iowa is interested in having him come to campus.

Phebus ran a 1:53 split last year on Central's 3,200 relay state-qualifying team. Wesson holds the school open 800 record (1:55). If Phebus commits to a college, it would mark the first time the Central boys have had a pair of Division I track athletes on the same team.