Morris athletes announce signings to continue careers in college

Morris Community High School has 24 athletes continuing their sports careers upon entering college, 11 of whom announced their intentions Tuesday evening at the high school.

Tuesday evening was the second opportunity for students to announce their college of choice in this informal process: Athletic Director Jeff Johnson said this announcement is an informal process. Most of the students have already signed their letters to attend college. The first event took place in February.

Four football players, Broc Grogan, Justin Newman, Ryan Wolenczuk and Ashton Yard declared their intent to continue their careers.

Newman, an offensive lineman who is majoring in business, said he selected Drake University because of the opportunity it offers to play at a higher level, and he gets to travel to new places, like when Drake plays South Dakota State at Target Field in Minneapolis on Saturday, Sept. 16.

“I’m going to miss Morris Football and all the fans on my hometown field,” Newman said. “But I’m excited to see the college game.”

“I’m going to miss Morris Football and all the fans on my hometown field,” Newman said. “But I’m excited to see the college game.”

—  Justin Newman

Ashton Yard, a running back majoring in physical therapy, said he’s excited to attend the University of St. Francis because he got a great offer from them, and he hopes to play right off the bat.

“I’m excited to transfer the skills I learned here to the next level in college,” Yard said.

Grogan said he has hopes of parlaying his time at two-year school College of Dupage into a college career elsewhere at somewhere like Florida.

Wolenczuk, a defensive lineman majoring in game design, will be attending Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. He wasn’t sure about moving that far away at first, but he found the school to be a great fit after his visits.

“They, more-or-less, chose me,” Wolenczuk said. “I wasn’t looking to go that far but then I found out they were interested in me and I found it to be the perfect place for me.”

Morris also has two dancers furthering their careers in college: Michaela Harlan is furthering her dancing career and studying nursing at the University of St. Francis while Maddy Rushing will do the same at the Marquette University.

“They, more-or-less, chose me,” Wolenczuk said. “I wasn’t looking to go that far but then I found out they were interested in me and I found it to be the perfect place for me.”

—  Ryan Wolenczuk

Harlan said she chose St. Francis because it’s close to home, and it’ll be a good experience to make new friends and teammates while still having the opportunity to visit when she can.

Rushing said she chose Marquette because it offers a little bit of everything at a school that’s not too small or too big. It also has a good nursing program. She also said she’s looking forward to living in a bigger city like Milwaukee, although she’ll miss being in Morris where everyone is close and knows each other.

Abby Henson is continuing her soccer career at Olivet Nazarene in Bourbonnais, where she will also be majoring in mechanical engineering. She said she picked Olivet Nazarene because it’s not too far from home and a religious school, which is important to her.

“I’m a captain here,” Henson said. “So, I’m also really going to miss leading with my team.”

Kaden Welch will be traveling a bit further for college and continuing his track and cross country career: He’s attending Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind. Welch will be majoring in electrical engineering.

He said he’s excited to compete on a high level, and there’s a bit of a difference between the high school and college levels.

“It’s five miles instead of three miles, which is a bit of an adjustment,” Welch said. “It’s gonna be a lot more mileage tacked on to my legs, so it should be interesting.”

Kylee Claypool is continuing her softball career at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa.

“I’m excited about the new atmosphere and being around new people who are just as excited to play softball, too,” Claypool said. “And the college atmosphere, too. I’m excited for that.”

Claypool is also majoring in nursing.

“I’m excited about the new atmosphere and being around new people who are just as excited to play softball, too,” Claypool said. “And the college atmosphere, too. I’m excited for that.”

—  Kylee Claypool

Mariya Anderson is the lone cheerleader keeping on with her sport in college as she attends McKendree College in Lebanon, Ill. to major in sociology and criminal justice.

“I’m going to miss the people here and Coach Erica (Steck),” Anderson said. “I’ve been with her since I was four-years-old and she’s been my coach ever since.”

Kaiya Ziga will be fishing for Southwest Michigan and majoring in Environmental Science. Ziga has been fishing competitively for four years but she’s been fishing her whole life.

“I’m most excited about the school academics-wise,” Ziga said. “Their student-to-teacher ratio is awesome, and I’ve heard amazing things about the education and environmental science programs.”

Johnson challenged the kids to treat college like a job: Playing sports in college is like a job but class will need to be their number one priority.

“You’ll get that piece of paper and do great things once you move on from there,” Johnson said.