Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School 7th grader Vincent Lee has already accomplished a lot during his brief rock climbing career. He reached another milestone on July 12.
Lee took fifth place in the Male Youth C category (11-12 year olds) at the USA Climbing Sport and Speed Youth Nationals Championship at Stone Summit in Kennesaw, Ga. Additionally, he placed 14th in the speed climbing competition.
The annual event invites the top seven climbers from each age category from each of the seven divisions nationwide. 464 climbers from across the country take part in the event, which included two days of qualifying routes, semifinals and finals.
Lee received his invitation to nationals by earning first place in the divisional championships held in Chicago in June, as well as taking first place title at regionals this past May in Grimes, Iowa.
Lee started climbing when he was seven-years-old by the climbing wall at the Fitness Formula Club in Oak Park.
“There were really nice people at that gym and I loved climbing on their wall,” he said. “Eventually I joined a team there. About a year later, I joined a different team in Chicago to get even more experience.”
Lee has been inspired by his coaches Dave Hudson and Michaela Kiersch, who have helped him gain experience while sharing a passion for the sport of rock climbing.
“(Hudson) is definitely one of my mentors,” Lee said. “He’s really inspirational and he’s been climbing all of his life. (Kiersch) made it to the world championships after winning the national championships. She’s another huge inspiration.”
Lee’s love for the sport comes from the rush of pure excitement he feels when overcoming a challenging wall.
“I love the movement of climbing,” he said. “I love the rush I get and the excitement and adrenaline I have when I’m up there.
Lee has accomplished a lot in his outdoor climbing career as well. He climbed a 5/12 grade wall in Kentucky and has climbed a 5/13 B grade wall inside (a 5/1 grade is the easiest difficulty and a 5/15 C grade is the most difficult). Even though he has conquered some of the most difficult walls, Lee looks forward to even greater challenges over a hopefully lengthy career.
“I really love climbing,” Lee said. “I plan on continuing to do it in the future for as long as I can.”
Many goals remain for the ambitious local climber.
“I really want to make the national team in the future,” he said. “I would also like to get some harder grades outside. I haven’t climbed outside as much because some of the harder areas are far away from here.”
Although it’s currently the offseason for Lee, he’ll be scaling new heights again in the fall when he will compete in the divisional and regional rounds, with hopes of a return to the nationals championship event and an even higher finish next July. Lee will train at First Ascent Climbing, Chicago’s newest and premier climbing gym.
“The competition is definitely going to be tougher,” he said. “I think I’ll be able to handle the competition as long as I stay focused.”
