Years of tireless training have finally paid off for the high school student-athletes who will continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level.
Senior Henry Hondroulis is committed to play lacrosse at the Division III level at Muskingum University next year.
Hondroulis explained his love for the sport is what ultimately helped him realize he would like to play in college.
“Since I wasn’t playing club lacrosse, I thought I just wasn’t going to get any opportunities,” he said. “But because I love the sport and worked really hard, those opportunities came.”
Similarly, senior Bethany Spangler committed to New York University, a Division III school, for swimming. She explained she had not always wanted to swim in college, but she thought participating in a school sport would provide her more connections.
“I am probably most excited about meeting new people from all different places and a new coaching style,” she added.
Senior Jenna Plank will join the track and field team at Butler University, a Division I college. She said she wanted to run in college after she began running competitively in middle school.
Plank explained college coaches began reaching out to her during her sophomore year, and she started communicating back and forth with them the following year. Junior year was a crucial time for Plank in the recruitment process, she added.
“During the summer and throughout junior year, I started going on official visits to the colleges I was interested in,” Plank said.
Similar to Plank, Spangler explained in order to start the recruitment process, she first had to set up a profile with the NCAA. This allowed college coaches to have access to her email and stats, as well as contact her if they want to, she added.
After speaking with many different colleges, Spangler explained she narrowed it down to her top few choices, and then she began visiting these schools. When making her final decision, she said she thought about many different factors, such as the location of the school and number of undergraduate students.
“I like a more structured practice schedule, and NYU offered that where some didn’t,” Spangler said.
Hondroulis explained he had a slightly different beginning to his recruitment process, as he started considering playing in college after a few coaches reached out to him through Instagram.
In order to decide which school was the best fit for him, he said he looked into each one’s academics and how they related to his intended major.
“Muskingum has a really great exercise science program with a brand new exercise facility, which is what I want to go into,” Hondroulis explained.
For Plank, it was important she liked both the coaches and the team, since she would be spending a lot of her time with them, she added.
In order to prepare for college, Plank said she has been doing many double workouts, where she will go home from practice and continue to work on getting better. She also has been working with a separate coach over the weekends to make sure she is ready for the intense training that comes with college athletics, she explained.
Hondroulis said he has also been working extremely hard this season and will continue over the summer until he leaves.
“I have been very intentional about my training and what I do throughout this season,” Hondroulis added. “Over the summer, I plan to continue to work with Coach [Jesse] Padgett on strength and conditioning.”
Spangler has been focusing on little things and perfecting her techniques to prepare herself for college swim, she said.
Spangler explained she is nervous about the long sets during practices, so she has been building endurance during the offseason in preparation for the additional challenges.
“If [playing your sport in college] is something you really want to do, then you have to put the effort in and try to put yourself out there to coaches because they won’t always reach out to you first,” Spangler said.
