Senior Jon McKay has earned a full-ride track and field scholarship with Madonna University.

He signed the contract on Friday, Feb. 5. McKay expressed his excitement to be running with the Madonna Crusaders in Livonia, Mich.

“I’m really excited to finally run on the next level,” McKay said. “I’ve been waiting for this day for four years now.”

McKay came in second on Kearsley’s team in total points in the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Coach Paul Adas is happy for McKay to get the opportunity but sad to see him go.

“Typically he (McKay) runs the fastest leg of the relays, so he has definitely held his own,” Adas said. “He should be the top scorer this year.”

McKay is the highest-scoring member set to return for the 2016 season, after failing to pass senior Anton Webster last year. Webster is currently attending the University of Detroit-Mercy on a full-ride scholarship.

Adas has continuously been impressed with McKay’s leadership skills, which match his physical abilities.

“To be on our relay team, you have to have a lot of leadership qualities because every man is held accountable,” Adas said. “Jon has definitely been a leader in his time at Kearsley.”

McKay has done well in his time at Kearsley.

He had a record-breaking meet in the 2015 Flint Metro League Championship, having taken first place in four different races for the first time in school history.

McKay led both the 800-meter and 1600 relays to first place, and won the 400 and 200 dashes. He scored a team-high 25 points at the meet.

Adas was proud of McKay’s many accomplishments, and anticipates success at the college level.

“I would expect him to do very well at Madonna because he has the talent to do so,” Adas said. “I think he had the potential to run Division I. The guys at Madonna are very lucky to have a guy like Jon in their program.”

Mr. Chinney McGee, assistant track coach at Madonna, who graduated from Flint Central High School, currently coaches sprints and hurdles.

McGee was looking through information on potential student athletes to recruit and was ecstatic to find out McKay was from Flint.

“As soon as I saw he was from Flint, I knew he was going to be interesting,” McGee said.

From then on, McGee started calling McKay once a day. This started in December 2015 and continued until his signing.

“The first time I saw him really run, he ran a 50.3 (in the 400), which would be top five in our division currently, so I was really excited about how fast he is,” McGee said.

McKay currently is the sixth fastest 400 runner in school history, having ran it in 49.7 seconds in 2015.

“When I found out we were going to have him running for us, I ran around the house I was so happy,” McGee said. “Jonathan McKay is a very special guy, and I believe he’s going to be a cornerstone of our program.”

McKay said, “I definitely feel blessed to be able to have this opportunity.”

“Jonathan had the biggest scholarship that we offer, he’s going to be the only member of this upcoming class, and he’s the first sprinter we’ve signed to the university,” McGee said. “We’ll find pieces to go with him. He’s the centerpiece. Everybody we get for the next four years will be built around him.”

Getting a full-ride scholarship is important to McKay, and he realizes how fortunate he is.

“It’s definitely a big weight off of my shoulders, knowing where I’m going to college and that it’s all paid for,” McKay said.

McKay had multiple offers for collegiate athletics, including one for football from Hope College. He plans to pursue only one sport once he gets to Madonna, however.

“I think I’m just going to stick with track at Madonna,” McKay said. “College sports are basically like a job.”

Despite his athletic success, McKay said that he is going to focus on academics at college.

“That’s the main focus, for sure,” he said.

McKay plans to pursue a career in business, specifically in management.