MORGANTOWN — “I always say that there are a few days I call scrapbook days,” Morgantown High athletic director John Bowers told the assembled mass of student-athletes and parents Wednesday afternoon. “You’ve got the first practice of your senior year, your homecoming game and today. So enjoy it.”
Wednesday was national letter of intent (NLI) day for high school student-athletes to officially commit and sign to continue their academic and athletic careers at the next level. A number of local athletes enjoyed their ‘scrapbook day’ Wednesday, signing to the college of their choice while surrounded by their friends and families.
“This day has been such a long time coming, I’m ecstatic,” said University’s Lauren Huebsch, who signed to play softball at Florida Gulf Coast. “The recruiting process, as a lot of athletes know, has been very hard, especially with COVID. I’ve dreamt of this moment and here I am, it’s just so surreal to be here.”
Some of the student-athletes who signed Wednesday at University and Morgantown High were like Huebsch and had their paths planned out long before signing day, while others found their sport of choice by mere happenstance.
“I actually started playing lacrosse because I got cut from the basketball team sophomore year,” explained UHS’s Zoe Mackey, a David & Elkins signee. “My dad said ‘let’s just try a sport.’ I tried lacrosse and I automatically fell in love and I’ve stuck with it ever since.”
Similarly, classmate Ryan Blohm first went out for the cross country team in middle school as a way to get in shape for basketball season. He never would have expected he’d be signing to run at Ohio University just a few years later.
“I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t start running,” Blohm said. “I would still be trying to play basketball and that wouldn’t have gotten me much.”
Morgantown swimmer Carter Redelman first jumped in a pool as a freshman just so he could swim with his brother, Spencer, then a senior. Fast-forward three years and he signed to swim at Fairmont State Wednesday.
Contrast those stories with Huebsch, who has known what sport she’s wanted to play and where she’s wanted to play it for years.
“When I was a little kid, the University of Florida played in the College World Series and I told my dad ‘I’m going to play college softball in Florida,’ Huebsch said. “One of the pitcher’s name was Lauren and as a little girl, I was like ‘that’s who I want to be, I want to be on TV, I want to play for the University of Florida.’ Now here I am playing for just as good of a school in an amazing location.”
Some athletes were sure of their sport but had no idea where the recruiting process would take them.
“I was not planning on going to the west coast, I actually wasn’t planning on talking to any schools on the west coast,” said Morgantown’s Irene Riggs. “One of my friends talked about the coaches and said that they’d be interested in me and I ended up deciding that I wanted to talk to Stanford and they remained the only school on the west coast I talked to and just happened to be the one that I chose.”
Riggs, a cross country and track long-distance runner, said she never wanted to go out west, but she eventually gave Stanford a chance and fell in love.
“I went on a visit in March and I remember talking to my mom about it and we both agreed that the entire visit we were trying to find something wrong and we couldn’t,” she said. “Everything was just perfect. I loved the coaches, I loved the atmosphere and obviously, the academics and athletics are great.”
Riggs’ twin sister, Caroline, similarly ended up at a school she didn’t initially expect, signing with the swimming team at Yale.
“I never really thought I was going to end up at an Ivy League School,” she said. “I met with Yale at a swim meet and that kind of catalyzed my interest in an Ivy.”
It’s hard to beat the combination of Stanford and Yale academically, something the Riggs sisters take a lot of pride in.
“It’s extremely validating,” Caroline said. “I’ve always valued my academics, so when I started my recruiting process I definitely put that high on my priorities in furthering my career. It was extremely rewarding to get to choose Yale as my school.”
“It’s definitely a little bit surprising,” Irene added. “I don’t think when we started our recruiting process, either of us thought we were going to end up at Yale or Stanford. It’s really exciting and I think it’ll be a good vehicle to set us up for the future.”
MHS’s Garrison Kisner will be staying in-state to join the ultra-successful men’s basketball program at West Liberty. Kisner said he’ll have work to do in order to get ready to play in coach Ben Howlett’s high-speed system.
“I’m going to have to get in shape more, I know that,” Kisner chuckled. “I’ll get in shape and I think I’ll fit in.”
Of course, there are also student-athletes who decided to stay close to home and play for the hometown Mountaineers.
Aaron Jamison was one of three Morgantown baseball players to sign Wednesday, choosing to ink his college plans with WVU.
“It lifts a lot of weight off my shoulders that I can play in an environment that I’m used to,” Jamison said. “It definitely takes a lot off me so I can play freely.”
Teammates Drew Bailey (Fairmont State) and Ryan Fluharty (USC Upstate) also signed Wednesday.
“Growing up watching the program, it’s completely done a 180,” said Jamison, who’s had a front-row seat to WVU’s recent rise. “(WVU coach Randy) Mazey has really done a great job over there and that’s one of the reasons why I chose to play at West Virginia University.”
Fluharty landed at USC Upstate, located in South Carolina, through a connection with his travel ball team. And also because he likes the weather there.
“I love the weather in South Carolina,” Fluharty said enthusiastically. “It’s not snowing there when the season starts, you don’t have to worry about wearing long sleeves and I’ve just always been a warm-weather guy.”
With the high school baseball still to be played this spring, Bailey said it was nice to celebrate signing day, but he’s far from done with his high school career.
“I came here with one goal, to win a state championship and I think we’ve got the team to do it,” Bailey said. “Until that happens, we still have a lot to work for. This is a cool little accomplishment, but I’m not even close to being done yet.”
Like Jamison, University wrestler Dom Parker will be suiting up in the Old Gold and Blue. Parker said the chance to stay home was the ultimate decider for him.
“WVU always feels like home, I’m always drawn back to it,” Parker said. “Even when I leave for tournaments and wrestling practices, I always just miss coming back to West Virginia. It’s my home, I don’t feel comfortable anywhere else.”
Like others, Parker sort of backed into becoming a wrestler, but found it to be the perfect sport for him.
“I was a big football guy but I went to a wrestling practice when I was like nine or so and I just liked it,” he recalled. “I always needed more of a physical sport. I played basketball and I always fouled out…but I stuck with (wrestling), I liked it.”
Like so many of the student-athletes who signed on Wednesday, Parker gave a lot of praise to his parents and the support system around him that has helped him get to this point. Virtually all of the student-athletes who signed Wednesday shared the same sentiment, but Parker might have put the finest point on it: “if you surround yourself with the right people, you’re unstoppable. You can do anything you want.”
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