Signing Day 2019: Broadneck, Spalding, Indian Creek Athletes Make College Commitments

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Student-athletes throughout Anne Arundel County and all over the country took part in Signing Day ceremonies this week to mark their official commitments to play college sports.

On November 14, fourteen Broadneck athletes convened for a Signing Day ceremony on campus. The Bruins’ 2019-2020 class of college-bound student-athletes includes Lela Clark (girls soccer, Frostburg), Alexandra Clough (field hockey, Ithaca College), Casey Domanski (girls lacrosse, Mount Saint Mary’s University), Sammy Dupcak (girls lacrosse, Penn State University), Payton Erbe (girls soccer, Hood College), Hayden Gourley (boys lacrosse, Bridgewater College), Matt Isaac (baseball, Penn State University), Anna Janke (cross country, Queens University of Charlotte), Alexis Keating (girls soccer, Frostburg), Madison Palmer (cross country, East Stroudsburg University), Emma Quandt (volleyball, Ashland University), Elizabeth Shafer (softball, University of Dayton), Ethan Soto (baseball, Nichols College) and Alexis Sullivan (girls lacrosse, San Diego State University).

Clark, Keating and Chesapeake senior Ashley Chew will be teammates on the women’s soccer team at Frostburg. Clark and Keating competed against Chew throughout their county seasons, and all three have been teammates for years on their Severna Park Black Thunder club team coached by Broadneck coach John Camm.

Quandt has had a big few weeks in her volleyball career. Last week she helped the Bruins to a region-final win over Severna Park and a berth in the state tournament. On Tuesday she led her Bruins in a state semifinal victory over Dulaney. On Thursday she committed to play at Ashland. On Saturday she and the Bruins will face Arundel in the 4A state championship at the University of Maryland.

Dupcak spoke about the range of thoughts and emotions the students experience on Signing Day, when they arrive at a goal many of them have pursued for a long time.

“Playing lacrosse for so long, it’s always been a goal of mine to play in college, and I’m proud to get the opportunity to compete at such a high level,” said Dupcak. “Getting to this point has come with a lot of hard work and dedication to both academics and athletics. You have to give up your weekends to travel to tournaments, spend a lot of time on the practice field, and put in time training on your own as well. I’m lucky that I’ve had such a great support system of family, friends, coaches and teammates to help me balance that…I chose Penn State because, along with the many great opportunities it offers both academically and athletically, there is nothing like the family atmosphere and school spirit.”

Like Dupcak, Isaac will also attend Penn State, and he will play baseball for the Nittany Lions at Penn State-Harrisburg.

“I am proud to reach this goal because it has been a very long journey to get here,” Isaac said. “It was a lot of very hard work, a lot of long practices and many games to get to this point. It shows that in the end all of the hard work does pay off. Ever since I was little I wanted to play college baseball, so I dedicated most of my life to the sport. It does take a lot of sacrifice like not being around family and friends as much, not getting a lot of sleep and a lot of traveling…I really liked the competitiveness of [Penn State] in having a winning baseball program. I really liked the coaches and what they had to offer. The distance was a big thing for me, so only being a couple hours away is nice. The final thing is the living options on campus are really the reason I chose Penn State Harrisburg. It felt like home to me.”

Archbishop Spalding also had a large class of college signees as 25 Cavaliers made commitments to college programs. Eight boys lacrosse players, seven girls lacrosse players and six baseball players highlighted the Cavaliers’ class, which included Josh Akers (boys basketball, Hood College), Shelby Miller (field hockey, Washington and Lee University), Patrick Turner (boys lacrosse, College of Holy Cross), Tucker Denault (boys lacrosse, Jacksonville University), Michael Eklof (boys lacrosse, Mount St. Mary’s University), Russell Melendez (boys lacrosse, Marquette University), Saam Olexo (boys lacrosse, Syracuse University), Colby Raber (boys lacrosse, UMBC), Hudson Stramanak (boys lacrosse, Randolph Macon College), Elijah Whiting (boys lacrosse, Widener University), Lindsay Beardmore (girls lacrosse, United States Naval Academy), Caroline Campitelli (girls lacrosse, Stevenson University), McKenna Davis (girls lacrosse, University of Tampa), Maggie Jordan (girls lacrosse, University of Richmond), Keeley McNemar (girls lacrosse, Rutgers University), Kristen O’Neill (girls lacrosse, Penn State University), Mackenzie Scheib (girls lacrosse, High Point University), Ethan McCormick (baseball, Liberty University), Josh Moylan (baseball, East Carolina University), Nate Vermillion (baseball, Frostburg State University), Nick Botsaris (baseball, Frostburg State University), Tyler Hargus (baseball, Susquehanna University), Nick Schepens (baseball, SUNY Maritime), Hannah Williams (girls soccer, Military Academy at West Point) and Zandy Gardner (girls soccer, DeSales University).

Indian Creek field hockey senior Kendyl Underwood committed to St. Louis University to play goalie for the Billikens. Underwood was an All-IAAM player this fall and embodies the drive and work ethic required to become a college-level athlete.

Severna Park’s class of 11 signees held its Signing Day ceremony on November 13.

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