While high school sports may not yet be in action, student athletes from across Orange County still participated in the first National Signing Day of the 2020-21 school year.
Safely distanced ceremonies took place at Orange County’s Catholic high schools, including Santa Margarita Catholic High School who saw 29 of their senior athletes make college commitments.
From the softball diamond, the Eagles had five players commit to playing at the collegiate level. Miranda Lista is headed to Abilene Christian University. Brooke Owens will be playing for Grand Canyon University. Abigail Charpentier committed to Santa Clara University. Angela Yellen signed with University of Washington, and Jayci Kruse will play for University of Missouri.
The school’s baseball program saw three players make commitments. Colby Wallace signed with University of Washington. Ethan Flanagan is headed to UCLA, and Jack Collins will play for California State University, Northridge.
From the pitch, five girls soccer players signed to continue their playing careers at the next level. Sophia Pearlman signed with Colorado State University. Gianna Christiansen and Grace Klosinski will both play for University of Arizona. Mackenzie MacMillan committed to Boise State University, and Lauren Memloy will play for TCU.
Santa Margarita’s girls volleyball program had four players make college commitments. Lauren Perri is headed to University of San Francisco. Brooke Bryant committed to San Jose State University. McKenna Thomas will play for Pepperdine University’s sand volleyball program, and Dominique Drust is headed to New York University.
Seven water polo players from across the school’s boys and girls programs made college signings. Camille Mras, Melanie Damato and Marko Maramica all committed to University of California, Santa Barbara. Speedy Laster is headed to Stanford University. Cole McKechnie will play water polo at the United Stated Naval Academy. Matty Walsh signed with Pepperdine University, and Ben Kirshon committed to Brown University.
Cross country and distance track runner Kendall Saeger committed to SMU. Gianna Medica will play golf for Butler University. In acrobatics and tumbling, Bethany Glick committed to University of Oregon, and Reagan McMahon signed with Gannon University. And from the pool, Alex Ispas will swim for Northwestern University.
“Our 2020 Fall National Signing Day Ceremony was one of the largest in our school’s history, acknowledging 29 fine young men and women,” says Santa Margarita Athletic Director, Annie Mai-Garrett. “Today is a testament to the hard work and dedication these students have put forth in the classroom and in their respective sports. With all of the adversity our athletes have dealt with these past nine months, we were grateful to celebrate these athletes’ accomplishments in person among proud coaches and family.”
JSerra Catholic High School saw 19 senior athletes sign to continue playing at the collegiate level. The Lions’ baseball program led the way with nine players making college commitments. Colin Blanchard will play for University of Washington. Wilson Cunningham is headed to University of Chicago. Gabe D’Arcy signed with University of Arkansas. Tommy Golbranson committed to University of St. Thomas. Max Imhoff will play for Yale University, and Luke Jewett, Gage Jump, Cody Schrier and Eric Silva are all headed to UCLA.
From the school’s softball diamond, Priscilla Gillies will play for Long Island University, and Paris Schwalbe signed with University of Nevada, Reno.
Two lacrosse players made commitments. Kennedy Mason will play for University of California, Berkeley, and Paris Melberg signed with University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Soccer player Natalie Abel will continue her playing career at Texas A&M University. Claire Duree will play soccer for Florida Southern College, and Abby Lynch signed with Loyola Marymount University’s women’s soccer program.
To round out JSerra’s signees, Taylor Barnes will play tennis at California State University, Los Angeles. Megan Workman signed to compete in gymnastics at Southern Connecticut State University, and Charli Bouquet is headed to Weber State University to play volleyball.
“Overall, I think it was a great day,” says JSerra Athletic Director, Chris Ledyard, “not only for our school, but our athletic department to honor the student athletes in an environment that helps promote the accomplishments of these young men and women.”