Rockwood to play football and run track at Rose-Hulman

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Lon Austin

Crook County High School graduate Tyler Rockwood has signed a letter of intent to play football and compete in track and field at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Rockwood, a three-sport star at Crook County, chose the university because of its engineering program.

“It’s been ranked the number one engineering program of any school in the country without a graduate program for the last 13 years,” he said. “It’s a small school and has a football team where everyone graduates in four years.”

Rockwood expects to play cornerback or safety for the football team and compete in either hurdles or sprints on the track team.

“They have a great track program,” he added. “They have been in the top 20 teams in division III for several years.”

The NCAA?Division III?school is in Terre Haute, Ind., and competes in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. The university has an enrollment of approximately 2,000 students. Admission to the school is very competitive with 4,298 applicants applying for admission in 2010 with just 510 accepted to the university.

The school specializes in mathematics and science, and unlike most division III schools, does not red-shirt any of their athletes.

The football team finished last season with a 5-5 overall record and a 5-3 HCAC?mark and is picked to finish sixth in the eight team university this season.

To prepare for football season, Rockwood has been running and lifting weights three times a week in addition to playing for a CCHS alumni 7-on-7 team during the summer.

Rockwood leaves for the university on Friday, Aug. 10, with football camp scheduled to start the following Monday.