Hall of Fame
Tory Groover not only set new marks and accomplishments for the Drury track & field program during his career as a Panther, his career performance set a definitive standard of excellence.
Groover came to Drury after winning the state championship in the high jump for Logan-Rogersville in 2009 and he quickly established himself as an elite athlete at the college level. Groover won the Great Lakes Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field championship in the high jump in his freshman year, then won the Outdoor title the same year.
Those championships were just the beginning as Groover pulled off a career sweep in the high jump at the GLVC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, winning the conference title every year of his career (2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013). He also won three Indoor GLVC Championships in the event, taking home the gold in each of the three years he competed in the event (2010, 2011 and 2012).
Groover was the 2010 GLVC Freshman of the Year for Indoor Track & Field and finished third or better in the high jump in four of his first five collegiate meets. He was an All-Midwest Region selection in 2012 and became only the second Drury men’s track & field athlete to advance to the NCAA-II National Championships and the first and only participant from the men’s program to reach nationals in a field event.
More than a dozen years after the completion of his career, Groover still holds Drury records in the outdoor high jump – 2.06 meters / 6’9” and in the indoor high jump 2.10 meters / 6’10.75”. He also holds Drury’s record in the indoor long jump (6.36 meters / 20”10.5”), ranks fifth all-time in the outdoor long jump (6.37 meters / 20’10.75”), and is fifth all-time in the indoor triple jump (12.14 meters / 39’10”).
Groover graduated from Drury in 2013 with a degree in Exercise and Sport Science and a minor in Global Studies. He resides in Springfield and is currently a private security contractor with the Department of Homeland Security.
