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Valley athletes commit to colleges
HOWLAND
Less than three percent of high school athletes continue their athletic careers in college. On Wednesday, Howland had seven athletes sign letters of intent in eight different sports.
Cassandra Murcko never saw any other sport but volleyball in her future. What started out as a joke, will now be a regular, day-to-day thing for the soon to be Saint Vincent Bearcat.
“My freshman-year math teacher said I wouldn’t try out for bowling and obviously I had to prove him wrong,” Murcko said. “So I did it and I turned out to be pretty good.”
Murcko has only been bowling for three years. She bowled a season high 248 during her senior season. She also set six volleyball records, including most career blocks (178), career digs (662), serves in a match (32), kills in match (30), kills in a season (448) and career kills (1242).
Murcko will be a two-sport athlete at Saint Vincent in Latrobe, Pa.
“When I started to talking to them I told them I was a bowler and they said they were just starting a bowling program, so now I’m the very first one to ever sign for bowling there,” she said.
Zachary Campbell has signed to play Division I baseball with Tiffin and his teammate, pitcher Jacob Harsany, will continue his baseball career at Mercyhurst North East.
“Playing at the collegiate level has always been a dream of mine and now that I’ve signed with Tiffin it’s a dream come true,” Campbell said.
Harsany agreed.
“It’s something that I’ve always wanted as a kid,” he said. “To finally be able to achieve my goal means a lot.”
Dominic Alberini and John Andamasaris are looking forward to staying on the gridiron in college.
Andamasaris will head to the University of Findlay.
“I’ve wanted to do this ever since I was little,” he said. “It’s a dream of mind. Findlay is a good program.”
Alberini is set for Capital in Columbus, but he never thought he would get the chance to keep playing.
He missed most of his junior season after transferring from Warren JFK and didn’t play his senior year so he could train and get back into shape.
Luckily for him, one school still came knocking.
“Looking back, there was a point where I thought I’d never been playing the game of football again,” he said. “With hard work, it shows anything is possible. So, it really means a lot to me.”
David Schwartz also had to put in hard work to make his dream a reality.
He came into Howland his freshman year wanting to be the soccer program’s all-time leading scorer. He didn’t play a minute of varsity his freshman season and only scored two goals off the bench during his sophomore season. The chances of pulling it off were pretty slim. But the two-time player of the year used the offseason to improve his game.
“I was at the park all the time working on simple drills trying to get better,” Schwartz said. “I started going to the gym more and I scored 25 goals my junior year. I was like, ‘hey maybe I can do this’ and so I spent that summer working even harder and it paid off.”
He set the all-time leading scoring record at 33. The previous mark was 27.
Colleges began to notice his hard work, but it was Cleveland State that really stood out.
For Isabella Elisco the opportunity to play tennis at John Carroll is bittersweet.
“I became so close with girls I never thought I’d become close with and it’s sad to say that I’m never going to play with them again,” she said. “It’s sad to say it’s over. This is a part of me.”
Elisco will start her new chapter at JCU in the fall, but becoming a Blue Streak wasn’t her first choice. She was set on Mount Union before she was approached by someone she thought was a parent after her district match this year.
“He turned out to be a recruiter,” Elisco said. “He came for me and only me and took a huge interest in me. Then I went with him to visit the college. They’re extremely solid division III team. I think I’ll do well there. I’m content and happy with my choice.”
Canfield’s Brittany Coonce signed a letter of intent Wednesday to continue her academic and athletic careers at Malone University in Canton.
“I liked the small college atmosphere and how everyone knows everyone,” Coonce said. “Not only did Malone’s head coach [Tice] and how he runs the program stand out, but the team is really like a family.”
Coonce finished her senior season leading the team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. She helped lead her the Cardinals to a 14-8 record and earned All-Northeast Inland District Honorable Mention.
Paige Sponsler will also be continuing her basketball career in college. The Mathews senior signed a national letter of intent to play at Westminster.
Sponsler set Mathews record of most 3-pointers in a game (7).
Mariah Hoff will be joining her at Westminster, but on the golf course. She was a four year letter winner for the Mustangs.
Emily Koehler will attend Tiffin and golf for the Dragons. Koehler was a district qualifier all four years and was a sectional medalist for three.
Nicole Watts signed to play softball at Lakeland College, a two-year community college in Kirtland.
Ken Wallace chose Loyola, YSU's league competitor, to run track and cross country.
"I feel privileged. I wasn't expecting it. It was a little last minute, but I'm really excited to be able to compete in a big city. I'm the only one from my school going this far away," he said.
Wallace set many records for the Mustangs, including the 1600m and 3200m dash. He also set records in the 800m, 1600m and 3200 meter dash during indoor season.
"I'm really excited for the strict training program. I don't really have a lot of guys to train and run with, so that will be a huge bonus for me," said Wallace.