JADE CAREY WAS 14 when she verbally committed to compete at Oregon State.
She was enamored with the team and the coaching staff, as well as the Corvallis campus. It felt like the perfect fit.
In the nearly 11 years since, Carey has become one of the country’s most decorated elite gymnasts, with three Olympic medals and three world championship titles, but her love for Oregon State has never wavered. While the balancing act between her national team commitments, academics and NCAA gymnastics has been a challenge at times, Carey wouldn’t change a thing.
On Thursday, after a stellar collegiate career, the 24-year-old Carey will represent Oregon State for the last time at the NCAA championships in Fort Worth, Texas. She enters the competition ranked No. 1 in the country in the all-around and on balance beam, and will have one last chance to bring an NCAA title back to Corvallis.
“That would mean everything to me,” Carey told ESPN on Friday. “It’s been one of my…
