March 1, 2024
By: Dwayne Page
A DeKalb County High School track runner will soon be sprinting off to college in full stride!
Kaleb Spears, a senior, signed papers Thursday committing to Milligan University to join the Buffaloes next year. He was joined at the signing by family, friends, and coaches.
It was during his middle school years that Spears became a runner in cross country and he continued participating in the sport at high school, but he really took off as a sprinter when he joined the DCHS/Warren County cooperative track program as a sophomore. Just last year as a junior, Kaleb set a school (Warren County) record placing 1st overall at Franklin County High School’s Sub-Sectional meet, with a personal best of 51.65 seconds. It was the third time Spears had broken the school’s record and his own in the same season.
Kaleb said he loves living and going to school in a small town like Smithville and that’s what he likes about Milligan. “It felt the most like home. It is a really small town and really closeknit. Everybody is nice and friendly. It’s a lot like DeKalb County and it felt like home to me when I was there,” said Spears.
Kaleb’s plans are to study chemistry and to become a forensic science technician for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Although he also enjoys basketball, Kaleb ‘s most success has been as a runner. “Basketball is my first love but when I made cross country in sixth grade I fell in love with the sport and I just kept doing it and its grown on me,” he said.
Before he sprints off to college, Kaleb still has more high school running ahead of him and more goals to achieve with his senior track season about to shift into high gear.
“It has really been exciting for me just to see all the hard work I have done to actually achieve something on the track as well as knowing that I still have my senior year coming up to hopefully improve on those records and maybe keep breaking my own records,” said Spears.
Jeremy Wilhelm, head coach at Warren County, said Kaleb is a gifted runner and has come a long way through hard work and perseverance.
“Kaleb takes long strides in the way he runs, and last year especially in the 400 meters event he did a really good job of improving his times. In fact, he broke the school record, three different times in the same season. He just continually got better and better and his hard work has paid off as is evidenced with this Milligan scholarship to further his education,” said Coach Wilhelm.
“With another high school season coming up, there are still a lot of things he can do this year that he is already pushing himself to do and that will result in the payoff of some good dividends because the little things he is doing now will set him apart when he goes to college,” added Coach Wilhelm.
Assistant Coach Kristen VanVranken of DeKalb County has worked with Kaleb from his days as a middle school runner and she has watched him excel in the sport over the years.
“Kaleb started running cross country with our DeKalb program as a middle schooler in sixth grade and he ran all three years of middle school. In high school he ran his freshman through senior years as a cross country runner and then in his sophomore and junior years he began running competitively in track and field through our Warren County cooperative program”, said Coach VanVranken.
“Kaleb is an extraordinary young man, super athletic, and he has just really blossomed the last two years with his track experience and training,” Coach VanVranken continued “He is very speedy. In cross country he was always a contributor to the team, but track is where he really shines. Kaleb does all the little things that sets him apart from being a competitive athlete to a collegiate level athlete. He does cross fit training through Vitality Fit. He trains with strength and you could really see that in his 400-meter run last year. Its just the extra stuff he does outside of practice that makes the difference for him and its pretty amazing to see,” added Coach VanVranken.
Along with his athleticism, VanVranken said Spears is among the best and brightest students academically in his class.
“Our 2024 DCHS class is super competitive with their academics. There are lots of smart kids in this class and Kaleb is ranked seventh which is determined through GPA and ACT scores. Its pretty impressive to make the top ten,” said Coach VanVranken.
Spears said while he is looking forward to college next year, he will always remember DCHS with a great deal of fondness.
“I’ll miss DCHS and seeing the people I grew up with and seeing their achievements in athletics and academics,” said Kaleb.
Milligan University is a private Christian university in Milligan College, Tennessee near Johnson City. Founded in 1866 as the Buffalo Male and Female Institute, and known as Milligan College from 1881 to May 2020, the school has a student population of more than 1,300 students, most of whom reside and study on its 355-acre campus. As a church-related liberal arts university, Milligan remains closely aligned with the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, a capella churches of Christ, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the three religious bodies that have traditionally supported the school. The university offers over 100 programs of study leading to both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
The Milligan athletic teams are called the Buffaloes. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) since the 2001–02 academic year.
Milligan competes in 29 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men’s sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, cycling, eSports, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field, triathlon and volleyball; while women’s sports include basketball, bowling, cheerleading, cross country, cycling, dance, eSports, flag football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field, triathlon and volleyball. Former sports included football and men’s disc golf.