Hellgate held a signing day for student-athletes planning to continue their sports in college in early February. This was the second signing day of the year, and six more athletes joined the initial nine from the December signing day.
Signing day is a big milestone for many athletes, as they plan to take their sports to the next level. Many have been playing these sports since elementary or middle school, and committing to a program is a reward for all the years of hard work and dedication.
On Feb. 4, Piper Wells and Kaylie Moe signed for softball at Hamline University and Emerson College, respectively. 3 time Montana AA state champion Elliotte Banziger signed for tennis at Vassar College, Seamus Campbell committed to Case Western Reserve University for football, and Slade Jones and Zane Gillhouse opted to stay in state, for soccer at Carroll College and basketball at Montana Tech, respectively.
They join the Hellgate students who signed on Dec. 4, which includes Parker Link and Evan Pyron for football at University of Montana, Vince Paffhausen for football at Montana Tech, Brody Schneider for volleyball at Roberts Wesleyan University, Sadie Seaman for lacrosse at University of Puget Sound, Odin Berryman for nordic skiing at Michigan Tech, AK Puryear for soccer at Michigan Tech, Emily Hensiek for swimming at Colorado Mesa University, and Elly Reed for track & field at University of Notre Dame.
These decisions come after a long period of talking to coaches, visiting schools, and eventually making the decision to continue a sport past high school. According to the NCAA, only 6.6% of high school athletes continue playing in college. Schneider, a volleyball player, said “I didn’t realize that it was an option for me until last year when I figured out that I was being recruited for it and it became a key factor in the school that I chose.” He said that because men’s volleyball is so small, finding a program became crucial to his college decision.
Some students have had it in their college plans all along, making it a vital part of their college decision process. “I’ve always wanted to do a sport in college, so that was a pretty big deciding factor along with the academics,” said high jumper Reed. A multi-sport athlete at Hellgate, Reed narrowed her focus to track and field last summer. “I did a lot of college recruitment stuff for basketball, so it was kind of a fun transition over when I decided that I wanted to do high jump,” she said.
All the athletes continuing into college have many exciting opportunities in the future. Schneider is looking forward to practice and play at a high level, an opportunity he doesn’t get in Montana for Men’s Volleyball. “I’m also very excited for the team culture and the new experience, especially being so far from home,” he said. Reed felt the same sentiment, saying that she was looking forward to the built in team and immediate friendships that come along with that.
While many athletes have their own team culture and connections in Montana, many are looking forward to how sports can build relationships in college. They get to start a new chapter of their lives with a group of people who have a shared interest. Hellgate athletics will certainly change without these athletes, but they will surely go on to have great success at the collegiate level.
