Thirteen students to continue athletic careers in college sports

By Megan Kelley
Staff Writer
ORION TWP. — Thirteen Lake Orion High School student-athletes signed national letters of intent in November to play their respective sports at a collegiate level next year.
This is the first of three signing days held by the district to highlight the achievements of its students.
“I’ve seen a lot of these student-athletes grow up for a long time and I could not be prouder,” said LOHS Athletic Director Chris Bell. “I talked about the opportunity they have in front of them to be a student-athlete and some of the challenges that they’re going to face at the next level. You’re going from the big fish in the small pond to starting over as a freshman. I don’t care where you’re playing, I don’t care if it’s junior college, NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), division three, division two, division one – when you’re walking in at 18 or 19 years old and you’re playing against 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 year old athletes, it can be intimidating.
“In year one, it’s about getting acclimated, making sure we have our priorities in order, that we are going to class and passing our classes, because that is the whole goal of going to college, as well as getting used to the athletic environment. It’s all about the first year. If you can make it through the first year, it all begins to make sense,” Bell said.
Soccer
Head coach for the LOHS girls soccer team, Amanda Huchinson, introduced Brooke Blackstock who signed to play soccer at Oakland University. Blackstock has been a varsity player for four years and has been a critical part of the team since then.
Allie Fouts signed to play soccer at Syracuse University where she plans on majoring in political science. Fouts was introduced by LOHS teacher and head coach of the varsity baseball team Andy Schramek.
She is different from most of the student-athletes that signed in that she does not play for the school team. Rather she plays for an elite program. Fouts, a midfielder, scored the highest number of goals on her team this year.
Baseball
Schramek also introduced pitcher Kael Gahan who signed to Duke University, which is a top 15 program.
Schramek spoke highly of Gahan, predicting that he will be an integral part of the Duke team his freshman year.
This upcoming season, Gahan hopes to strikeout 100 batters for the second year in a row, which would make him one of only a few in the LOHS baseball program history to do so.
Swimming
Head coach of the girls varsity swim team, Haley Kornburger, introduced two of her athletes.
Adriana Waller, one of the leading scorers for Lake Orion’s swim team, signed to Aquinas College where she plans to study psychology.
Kate Rhodes, team captain and a versatile swimmer on the Dragon’s roster, signed to swim at Wayne State University where she plans to study secondary education with a focus on integrated science.
Volleyball
Devin Brunk, a go-to player and one of the team captains for the varsity volleyball team, was introduced by head coach Tony Scavarda.
Brunk signed to continue her volleyball career at Frostberg State University.
Lacrosse
Jason McElroy, head coach of the girls varsity lacrosse team, introduced Morgan Vasquez who signed to Kalamazoo College.
Vasquez has been a strong member and leader of the Lake Orion team over the years, McElroy said.
In a program first, boys varsity head coach Ron Herbert introduced the team’s goalie Elanya Narlock who signed to Eastern Michigan University.
Tennis
Sienna Osborne, quite possibly one of the best tennis players Lake Orion has produced, was introduced by Bell.
Osborne played for the LOHS team her freshman and sophomore year where she ranked fourth in the state. Now, she competes at a much higher level and was notably ranked 107 in the nation in the junior league.
Osborne signed to play at Western Michigan University.
Softball
Head coach of the varsity softball team at Lake Orion Joe Woityra introduced four of his athletes who were signing to various schools.
Madison Eckert, a fluid player who has played every position except for pitcher in her four years on the team, signed to Lake Erie College.
Grace Luby, outfielder for the Dragons and four year varsity player, will attend Spring Arbor College next year to continue her softball career.
Alexis Hazen, a first baseman and three-year varsity player, signed to continue playing softball at Calvin University.
Anna Kate Gardner signed to Cedarville University.
Gardner is another four year varsity player that plays several positions. She’s most notably the team’s third baseman but also boasts being the backup to the backup to the backup to the backup pitcher.