Thirteen seniors commit to schools for athletics on annual Signing Day

On April 14, the spring signing period began. All across the nation, athletes signed letters of intent with their prospective schools. At East, 13 Lancers didn’t make things official with their new teams and coaches until the following day. This group won state championships all over the board, from swimming to tennis to track, and their future destinations hope they can bring similar successes with them.

Zach Clements
College Plans: Track at Johnson County Community College
Sports Played at East: Baseball, Cross Country, Track
Reason Chose School: It was my only offer.
Favorite East Athletic Memory: Winning districts in the 4×400 relay in 2009.

Alex Cox

College Plans: Baseball at Pratt Community College
Sports Played at East: Baseball, Soccer
Reason Chose School: I know two of the coaches there, and it just seemed like the right fit.
Favorite East Athletic Memory: The freshman baseball team I was on was one of the most fun baseball seasons I’ve ever had. The people on the team were great, the coach was great; it was just a good time.

Janna Graf

College Plans: Basketball at Yale University

Sports Played at East: Track, Basketball
Reason Chose School: Because of the good academic program, and the team and coaches are amazing.
Favorite East Athletic Memory: Making it to state junior and senior year for basketball. We hadn’t gone in 19 years, so it was a good step for us and the program.

Gordon Green
College Plans: Soccer at Millikin University
Sports Played at East: Soccer, Swimming
Reason Chose School: They gave me the best scholarship.
Favorite East Athletic Memory: Scoring the winning goal against South last year in overtime.

Jessie Jacob
College Plans: Soccer at Johnson County Community College
Sports Played at East: Soccer, Basketball
Reason Chose School: I love the coaching staff. [JCCC] is ranked number two in the nation in the National Junior College Athletic Association. I also had a really nice offer.
Favorite East Athletic Memory: I really enjoyed going to St. Louis with the soccer team every season. There was just a lot of bonding on the bus rides and some initiation that goes down at the hotels.

Allison Kirby
College Plans: Swimming at Depauw University
Sports Played at East: Swimming
Reason Chose School: It had everything I wanted. I wanted to study abroad, so I chose a [Division III] school because of that. I wanted to be in a sorority, so I did that because of [Division III], too. I like the coach a lot too.
Favorite East Athletic Memory: State my sophomore year, because we did really well as a team and I broke the school record in the 100-breaststroke.

Mallory Kirby
College Plans: Track at Illinois Wesleyan University
Sports Played at East: Track, Cross Country, Soccer
Reason Chose School: They have a good track program and a good nursing program.
Favorite East Athletic Memory: Winning the Kansas Cup last year, which is the best high school women’s relay team.

Nikki Reber

College Plans: Tennis at Iowa State University
Sports Played at East: Tennis
Reason Chose School: Iowa State’s coach and team are really nice, and it’s a good distance away from home. It’s a good school
Favorite East Athletic Memory: Winning state junior year as a team, because it was a battle with Blue Valley North, and we ended up winning.

Maddy Rich
College Plans: Track at University of Kansas
Sports Played at East: Cross Country, Basketball, Track
Reason Chose School: I visited a lot of schools, and I really liked the girls at KU. You;ve got to like the people you’re running with every day.
Favorite East Athletic Memory: When the 4×800 won state last year, because we were a second off from breaking the state record.

Lindsey Sauls
College Plans: Volleyball at Appalachian State University
Sports Played at East: Volleyball, Track
Reason Chose School: It felt really homey because my sister goes there.
Favorite East Athletic Memory: Competing in state my sophomore year, because it was the only time we went to state and it was really exciting.

Sally Schoenfeld
College Plans: Tennis at Depauw University
Sports Played at East: Tennis
Reason Chose School: I can play tennis and do the honors program.
Favorite East Athletic Memory: Just making a lot of great friends.

Kareen Schwartze
College Plans: Volleyball at Rockhurst University
Sports Played at East: Volleyball
Reason Chose School: I really like the school and I like the coach.
Favorite East Athletic Memory: Qualifying for state my sophomore year.

Hunter Stevenson
College Plans: Swimming at Saint Louis University
Sports Played at East: Swimming
Reason Chose School: I chose SLU for their engineering, and I’m swimming because it will get me more money, because it’s an expensive school.
Favorite East Athletic Memory: Winning state this year, because it was my senior year. It was awesome beating out Blue Valley North when we shouldn’t have.