Signing Day: Challenges and rewards lie ahead for future collegiate athletes
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 15 student-athletes signed with their future colleges for athletics. Among the athletes that signed their letters of intent in the quad at lunch are seniors Thomas Ponticelli, Tyler Resnick, Maddy Spangler, Emily Williams, Ryanna Hammond, Mariana deMaille, Celeste Rains-Turk, Ryan Blaich, Parker Maki, Michael Marinelli, Ryan Shen, Kendall Mader, Elizabeth Anderson, Nicholas Johnston, and Blake Doremus. Each of these athletes has worked tirelessly in their respective sport, and now have committed to the challenge of being collegiate student-athletes.
While many obstacles lie ahead, the athletes have already overcome one of the most difficult – choosing which college to attend. Marinelli, who has been playing lacrosse for eight years, took two years to make the decision to commit to Dickinson College. “I had a few that I was looking at, but it kind of came down to where I felt like I was home, and Dickinson just really took the cake for me,” Marinelli said.
Resnick, who committed to the University of Southern California for volleyball, also had a hard time choosing his school. “I had a lot of debates. There (were) a lot of different D1’s I was looking at, but it all came down to USC as the right choice,” Resnick said.
Being a collegiate athlete not only requires the usual time commitments for strenuous, high-level academics, but also long hours for sports. While the athletes have worked hard at their sport throughout high school, college requires even more time and commitment. “I put a lot of effort and time into volleyball now, but (there will be) even more of that,” said Blaich, who signed his letter of intent to play volleyball for the University of California, San Diego. “It is weight room, practice for three hours a day, and then studying … it’s going to be tough,” he said.
While looking forward to the rewards of being a collegiate athlete at UCSD, Blaich believes he has already received the best one. “The most rewarding thing is just getting into such a great university,” Blaich said. “I think that if I (didn’t) play volleyball, that I would not have gotten into this great school, so it’s really cool that I got into UCSD. It is my dream school.”
Full list of student-athletes who have committed to a college:
Blake Doremus / BYU / Baseball
Tyler Resnick / USC /Volleyball
Thomas Ponticelli / University of Oregon / Baseball
Madison Spangler / Southern Oregon University / Soccer
Emily Williams / California Lutheran University / Soccer
Ryanna Hammond / Pfeiffer University / Soccer
Mariana deMaille / William Smith College / Soccer
Ryan Blaich / University California San Diego / Volleyball
Celeste Rains-Turk / University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point / Volleyball
Parker Maki / California State University Northridge / Volleyball
Nicholas Johnston / Lakeland College / Volleyball
Michael Marinelli / Dickenson College / Lacrosse
Ryan Shen / University of California Berkeley / Tennis
Kendall Mader / University California Berkeley / Track & Field Throwing
Elizabeth Anderson / Lehigh University / Crew
Zach Okun / University of Oregon / Football
Darick Holmes / University of Arizona / Football
Matthew Matlock / Ohio Dominican / Football
Ryne Benson / University of California Santa Barbara / Volleyball
Shreya Chattopadhyay & Kyle Popock
