Horseheads High School's signing ceremony Tuesday was largely about family ties and school ties, not to mention athletes who have helped produce a lot of wins.
The school celebrated seven seniors who have committed to compete at the Division I or Division II level as part of the first of three planned signing events.
"I’ve gone to school with all these kids since kindergarten, so it’s really sweet to see everyone signing, everyone going to their respective colleges," said Alexis Krohmalney, committed to Slippery Rock University for lacrosse. "I’m happy for myself, but I’m also even more happy for all of my peers to be going to college as well."
Lacrosse player Brooke Sumner, who was cleared Tuesday to play without restrictions on playing time after ACL surgery, will join baseball player Dominick Russ in attending Division I programs where their respective parents played.
Sumner's mom, Laura (Spaulding) Sumner, starred at St. Bonaventure and is in the St. Bonaventure University Hall of Fame. Russ' dad, Jim Russ, played at Le Moyne College.
Iylan Fowler
School: D'Youville University (Buffalo) for lacrosse.
Coach's perspective: "She’s a hard-working athlete who is very supportive of all of her teammates," Horseheads coach Jennifer Guzylak said. "She is always encouraging everyone and always has a smile on her face."
Athlete's perspective: D'Youville's highly regarded physical therapy program was a draw. "It was definitely more going to a good school and choosing somewhere that was a perfect fit. I didn't want to go far from home either, which is nice just being two and a half hours away."
Alexis Krohmalney
School: Division II Slippery Rock (Pennsylvania) for lacrosse.
Coach's perspective: "I’ve been very lucky to coach Alexis. She is one of the hardest-working athletes in our program and is a true role model for her teammates," Guzylak said.
Athlete's perspective: "I’m really excited to take my lacrosse abilities to college. That’s usually the end goal for a lot of athletes and to be given the opportunity to actually compete at the DII level is really special to me, with the help of all my coaches, all my teammates pushing me to get better every day."
Zach Lese
School: Mercyhurst (Erie, Pennsylvania) for lacrosse.
Coach's perspective: "He is by far one of the most coachable players I’ve had the pleasure to coach over the years," Jason Neubauer said.
Athlete's perspective: "I can’t thank everybody enough – my teammates, my coaches, my friends, my family. I’m just excited to go compete for such a great school, a great university."
Said Lese of Mercyhurst's jump from DII to Division I: "I heard whispers from some of the people I know there and the following day it became official, so it was exciting."
Shoonfon Li
School: George Washington University (Washington, D.C.) for swimming.
Coach's perspective: Horseheads coach Chris Bankaitis was a teammate of Li's older brother, Shoonshin, and said there was conversation about whether Shoonfin would be even better. "Despite all of that, Shoonfon proved he had the drive and the determination not only to succeed but to go above and beyond what was expected of him," Bankaitis said.
Athlete's perspective: "I just finished the winter season for swim and I looked at colleges and where I would like to go and I ended up sending an email to the head coach there. I went for a visit and I thought it was the right place for me."
Maddie Matkosky
School: Caldwell University (New Jersey) for softball.
Coach's perspective: "This year she didn’t quite have the story book ending we talk about in high school sports, but I think she’s learned some skill sets and lessons that are going to take her to quite a nice career at the college level," Paul Richmond said. "Surgery kept her from competing with us, but she attended every practice. She supported our team and actually helped coach some of the girls."
Athlete's perspective: "I had a lot of support from my family, my teammates, all my coaches. It’s a great opportunity. … I’m also majoring in nursing and this college was super welcoming to me in letting me do both nursing and play softball at the same time."
Dominick Russ
School: Le Moyne College (Syracuse) for baseball.
Coach's perspective: "This has been great to watch over the last four years, the development of this kid," Jeff Limoncelli said. "Skinny little 6-2, 150-pound freshman fell in love with the weight room, has great work ethic and now look at him. He’s going to Le Moyne to play Division I baseball and I know his teammates, his family, everybody’s proud of him. But the one thing that sets him aside, he was very easily recruited because of his academics."
Athlete's perspective: "It’s amazing. To be able to go to a program that’s just going back to DI, they’ve had some success before, it means everything to me and I can’t wait to be a part of it. Knowing my dad went there, too, it’s very important to me."
Brooke Sumner
School: St. Bonaventure (Olean) for lacrosse.
Coach's perspective: "Brooke is one of the most determined athletes I’ve ever coached," Guzylak said. "When she sets her mind to something she accomplishes it. This season has been very challenging for her. She’s coming off ACL surgery she had in the fall and it’s been remarkable to see how quickly she’s progressed through that."
Athlete's perspective: "I’m one of the first, if not the first at Bonaventure, to also have a mom that played there. She is such a role model in my life, so it’s really important to me that I’m going to go there and do well for her."
Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today
Most Popular
Comments / 0