Several seniors at BBHHS have decided to take their talents beyond the hive and have committed to continuing their athletic careers in college. These student athletes have been incredibly dedicated throughout their high school careers, showcasing exceptional talent and passion in their respective sports. This talent and passion has taken them all the way to the collegiate level where they will continue to grow on and off the field.
Kendall Barrett has been playing soccer for 14 years and plans to continue her soccer journey at Jackson State University. “It has always been my dream to play D1 soccer at a school out of state and Jackson State gave me both of those [opportunities].” Barrett felt an immediate sense of belonging with the team on campus, which confirmed she made the right choice. She credits her success to not only her own hard work, but also the time and effort her coaches and parents put into her career.
One piece of advice Barrett has for future commits is to never give up on their dreams. “Keep sending emails, even if you think you’ve sent enough, keep sending them!”
Emily Melcher has been playing basketball since first grade, and plans to continue her athletic career at Mount Union University. Melcher especially appreciates the family environment the school provides for her. “The recruitment process was kind of stressful, but really fun at the same time. It’s exciting to see all of the colleges that could possibly be interested, but it’s stressful when it comes down to picking the right one.” Melcher found the hardest part of the recruitment process was telling coaches that their college wasn’t the best fit for her.
Melcher is excited to play the sport that she loves at a higher level for the next four years.
Sadie Lewis has been playing soccer for the past 14 years and plans to extend her career at Mercyhurst University. Her commitment process started with her club coach mentioning Mercyhurst and Lewis reaching out to the head coach. They set up a call and Lewis really enjoyed talking to the coach and learning what the school had to offer. She then attended an ID camp at the school and really enjoyed it. Finally, she received her offer and accepted it because she loved the things the school had to offer.
The thing that excites Lewis the most about playing at the collegiate level is to play in a competitive environment where everyone has similar goals.
Riley McPherson plans to continue his wrestling journey at Brown University after years of competing in the sport that he loves. McPherson describes his current and future coaches as being greatly supportive and involved throughout his recruitment process. McPherson recalls a text he received from a coach at Brown following a competition. “I hadn’t performed as well as I hoped, but he encouraged me and said he was still proud of how I wrestled and expressed excitement to coach me next year.” McPherson knew almost immediately Brown was where he wanted to be, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Because of the influence coaches like Coach Haverdill had on him, Riley hopes to become a coach himself in the future.
Liane Tichy has been playing soccer for 14 years and will continue her soccer career abroad at the University of Gloucestershire in England. Tichy decided to commit here because it’s a unique opportunity that not a lot of people get, and she didn’t want to miss out on it. “It’ll be cool to play with people from different parts of the world.” Tichy was motivated to take her talents overseas and elevate her game thanks to the support of her parents and teammates.
Tichy found the recruitment process stressful at times, but overall felt proud of the work she put in to explore what options she had.
Other seniors who have committed include Garrett Alexander for gymnastics at Simpson College, Frank Aquila for wrestling at Wheeling University, Rylan Seacrist for wrestling at Arizona State University, and Broc Rousseau for gymnastics at Springfield College.
Congratulations to every senior who has decided to take their athletic talents beyond the hive!
