Tolog Athletes Commit to a Variety of Universities

Several athletes are looking forward to continuing their sports careers in college. So far eight seniors have committed to play soccer at a wide range of universities, exceeding last year’s recruitment total, while two more Tologs have committed for softball.

Senior soccer player Sarah Teegarden is committed to Wake Forest University as a center midfielder while Savannah Viola will play for University of New Mexico as an outside midfielder/forward. Hailey James will play forward/midfielder at Cal Poly Pomona and teammate Krista Meaglia signed as a midfielder for Northeastern University.

Center midfielder Claire Kostelnik has committed to St. Mary’s College of Maryland and defender Kendall Sandoval signed with University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Miranda Saldivar will be a center midfield attacker at Swarthmore College. U.S. national team member Kayla Mills, who was recruited as a sophomore, will fight on as a forward at USC.

Softball player Kelly Jacobs will chase down fly balls in center field for Loyola Marymount University.

Sumner Hanula will take on the challenge of playing two sports in college. She will be defending on the soccer field and catching softballs in the outfield at Wellesley College in Maryland.

People often assume committed athletes can relax in school, but that perception is not always reality.

“The pressure of college only increases when you commit because the school expects you to perform and meet their standards. Preparing for the transition is very intimidating and difficult to balance as a teenager,” said Teegarden.

Teegarden added that playing soccer in college can appear scary at times, but she looks at it as an opportunity to do something she loves while teaching herself to strive to be the best in both her athletic and academic pursuits.

Yet, classmate Hailey James “took an easier class schedule because I knew I was accepted. I felt a lot of weight off my shoulders because I didn’t have to go through that application process and write all of the essays.”

Both Sandoval and Kostelnik said that although they are committed they have not taken easier classes to lighten their homework load. Sandoval wants to get into the honors college at UNLV and so she feels the pressure to get good grades, while Kostelnik remains driven to do just as well in school if not better than she had previously performed.

Athletic Director Stephanie Contreras is excited to watch the recruits take the next step in athletics; she anticipates more athletes will be recruited later this academic year.

Ms. Contreras believes “FSHA will only get stronger in terms of having girls play in college in the future. We have a lot of talented athletes in our school and it seems to continue to grow each year.” -Dana Budzyn