Cross country stars Boe, Bobbe, Clark all commit to WSU
Believe it or not, there is more to life than football.
Nationally, and even regionally, the focus on the February signing period for college athletics is on football.
But soccer, track and field, and cross country athletes also get to put their names on letters of intent for the first time on this day.
All over Clark County on Wednesday, athletes were making commitments to college programs.
Columbia River standout runners Sarah Bobbe, Kyle Boe, Allison Clark will continue to wear the same uniforms. Each of them signed with Washington State for cross country and track and field. The three of them got together with family, friends, and coaches at Bortolami’s Pizzeria on Wednesday night to celebrate the event.
“I knew Kyle was going there the whole time,” Clark said. “He pretty much had it figured out.”
Then Bobbe said she was heading to Pullman, too. Clark said at first, she figured they should go their separate ways. They are friends, but they have been competing with each other for years.
“But when I visited there, I had to go there,” Clark said.
“It was the Gatorade machine,” said Boe, joking that the sports drink was deciding factor.
All three said making verbal commitments earlier meant more to them that the actual signing day.
“You’re actually talking to the coaches about it, and you’re hearing the excitement on both ends,” Bobbe said.
“This is like the ceremonial seal-the-deal-type thing,” Boe added.
All are thrilled with the idea of racing for Washington State.
“It’s Pac-10,” Bobbe said.
“It’s as real as it gets,” Boe said.
Five other Chieftains were expected to sign with colleges Wednesday. School was not in session so a ceremony is planned for today for these athletes:
Hannah Kimsey (Portland State soccer); Scott Schnitzer (Northwest University soccer); Mindi Hunsaker (Western Washington soccer); Kiva Stevens (Western Washington soccer); and Steven Hughes (Western Washington soccer).
Union honored eight athletes, in all, including five who do not play on the gridiron. Hundreds of students crowded around the tables to congratulate the athletes.
“It’s so exciting. I don’t even know what to say,” said Brina Sych, who will be playing soccer for Western Washington. “It’s so good to have all these people here, supporting me. There were a ton of people. It was awesome. It was amazing.”
Track standouts Kinsley Ojukwu and Stanley Ojukwu did not sign because there are no athletic scholarships for the Ivy League. But the twins announced they are headed to Cornell to sprint and study.
Softball players were allowed to sign in November, but Union honored two on Wednesday: Mariah Dawson is headed to Florida International. Kadi Henderson is going to Southern Utah.
“When I was little, I always dreamed of playing college softball,” Henderson said. “When Southern Utah contacted me, it was a dream come true.”
Camas soccer has two Division I talents who were expected to sign this week: Brittney Oljar is off to Oregon State, while Eryn Brown will stay closer to home at Portland State.
Class 2A Hockinson had a ceremony for five athletes, including three soccer players and a volleyball standout.
Torri Sitzman had favorite and made sure it was the only one on her list. The soccer player earned a partial scholarship to Eastern Washington.
“I was going to walk on,” she said. “Eastern Washington was my No. 1 choice.”
Julianne Steele will play soccer at Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho.
“I was looking for a small, Christian college. I didn’t want to experience the huge class size,” she said. “I like the campus, and I like that it’s semi-close and semi-far away.”
Ashley Haden, another soccer player, is going to Western Washington.
“It feels good. A lot of hard work over seven, eight years, all coming together,” she said.
Leslie Hanks, a volleyball player, had already signed with Concordia in Portland.
But the school wanted to honor her, too. She was just proud to be part of this special group.
“In the past (at Hockinson), it’s been mostly boys who have been signing,” she said. “Today was mostly girls. I feel connected to them because we’ve all worked so hard to get here.”
Note: Coaches and athletic directors are asked to contact us at sports@columbian.com with any recruting updates.
