Hersey senior goes to new heights for his passion

A trip to the rock climbing wall at the Lattof YMCA in Des Plaines during Indian Guides made a lasting impression on Greg Padovani Jr. of Arlington Heights.

He enjoyed the sport so much, he advanced to competitive rock climbing teams, and this summer he placed in the top 10 at a national event.

Padovani will be a senior at Hersey High School this year, and among his extracurricular plans are to start a rock climbing team there. He certainly has the expertise.

At the U.S. Climbing Association national rock climbing competition, held at Planet Rock Gym in Ann Arbor, Mich., the teen placed 10th in the elite 18-19 age category, that included highly ranked climbers from around the world.

Just this week, Padovani returned to his favorite climbing site, the Red River Gorge in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky, which contains the most natural rock formations in one concentrated area east of the Rocky Mountains.

In junior high school, Padovani began training under Peter Yu at the Bolingbrook Park District, before traveling to Wayne to work with Scott Williams at Vertical endeavor Rock Gym.

Most recently, he has joined the team led by national rock climbing coach, Dave Hudson, at Hidden Peak Climbing Gym in Chicago.

Padovani works out nearly every day, his parents Greg and Charlene said, whether at one of the many gyms in the Chicago area or in Milwaukee -- or on his own rock climbing walls in his basement.

Pushing the limits of his skills is what drives him, his father added, but he also likes to expand awareness of the sport.

Earlier this month, Padovani demonstrated his skills at a rock climbing exhibition hosted by the Lincoln Park Athletic Club, and then he helped introduce rock climbing to disabled patients at the Adaptive Climbing Event, sponsored by Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital in Chicago.