Photo by Jenny Walters Photography
Ten Lakota West senior student-athletes made commitments to continue their education and play their respective sport in college next school year at the Fall Early Signing Ceremony. All sports, except soccer and football, can participate in the NCAA “early signing” period starting November 8th- November 15th. Lakota West will host another signing event for football and soccer during the “regular” signing period on February 7th, 2017. The third and final “regular” signing period for all sports will occur on April 11th, 2017. In addition, there’s a new “early” signing period for football in 2017 that occurs on December 20th.
Links to media coverage:
Enquirer story
Enquirer Photo Gallery
A VERY special thanks to Jenny Walters for her professional photography at the event. The complete album IS POSTED!
Click Here for the complete photo gallery by Jenny Walters Photography
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Ally Haar-Basketball– Niagara University
Ally Haar has been on the varsity girls basketball roster since her freshman year and started seeing significant minutes in her sophomore season. As a junior, she averaged 14 minutes and 4.2 points per game while the team went 24-3 and advanced to the sweet sixteen. “Ally’s best days in basketball are still to come. She is very diligent and puts extra quality time into work on her shooting and handles. Her proactive training, ability to perform in the clutch and communication with college coaches were very well received by recruiters,” said Lakota West Head Basketball Coach Andy Fishman.
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Sarah Jones-Basketball-Embry-Riddle University
Sarah Jones has been a contributor on the varsity team since her freshman season including seven minutes in the 2015 OHSAA State Championship game. As a junior, Jones started in 23 games averaging 11.1 points, 1.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game. She was also named first team All-GMC as a junior. “Sarah is a high-energy maximum effort player. She is very hard-working and puts the extra quality time into working on her shooting and handles. She displays daily competitiveness, is a great teammate, and easy to coach,” said Lakota West Head Basketball Coach Andy Fishman.
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Abby Prohaska-Basketball– University of Notre Dame
Abby Prohaska has made an immediate impact on the Firebird squad since her freshman season when she broke the Lakota West single-season steal record. She has assisted the Firebirds to a 78-7 record over the last three years. She has been named All-GMC three times and 1st team All-State as a junior. She also won a bronze medal at the FIBA U17 World Championships playing for USA Basketball. “As a player, the first thing an observer notices about Abby is her relentless high motor. With more observation, one sees a highly skilled player at both ends of the floor in Abby. She has worked so hard at expanding her offensive game to include 3 PT shooting accuracy, a stellar pull up and turn around jump shot to complement her all-around floor game. Notre Dame is getting a playmaker who can do it all,” said Lakota West Head Coach Andy Fishman.
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Sophia Schivone-Volleyball– Lake Erie College
The 6’0” middle blocker, Sophia Schivone, has been a four-year starter for Lakota West. She was the second team All-GMC as a sophomore and 1st team All-GMC as a senior. As a senior, she led the team with 165 kills. “Lake Erie will be a great fit for Sophia. Sophia is a very talented player with a quick approach and fast arm swing. She is a good blocker who has the ability to shut down a team. Her serve frustrates opponents. She is excited about playing at the next level,” said Lakota West Volleyball Coach Tracey Kornau.
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McKenzie Rice-Swimming– University of Akron
McKenzie Rice has excelled in distance swimming since her freshman year when she qualified for districts in two individual events (500 free and 200 free) and two relays. She returned her sophomore year and qualified for state in the 500 free and broke the Lakota West school record along the way. She was also a member of two school record-breaking relay teams (200 free, 400 free) in 2016. In her junior season, she finished 11th in the state in the 500 free and 12th in the state in the 200 free. “McKenzie is a hard worker and team leader who leads by example. She has been a state qualifier and we are looking for McKenzie to have an outstanding senior year,” said Lakota West Head Swim Coach Dennis Beck.
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Jordan Smith–Beach Volleyball–University of South Carolina
Jordan Smith will follow her sister, Katie (Class of ‘16) to the University of South Carolina. Jordan has been a USAV National finalist, High-Performance Southeast Zone Champion and has won 3 AVP Next tournaments. “Jordon is not the tallest athlete around but what she lacks in height she more than makes up for in heart and desire. Jordon is the proverbial Gym rat, but in this case, sand rat. She really has put a crazy amount of time and effort into reaching her goal of playing beach volleyball in college. With all the great things Jordon has achieved in the beach game, she still remains a humble, very nice girl whom we are all very proud of. Jordon will compete to win a National Championship this year and my money is on her to do it,” said Ohio Valley Beach Volleyball Club Coach Rob Long.
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Allie Cummins-Softball-University of Akron
Allie Cummins will go down as one of the most decorated Lakota West softball players of all time. She was selected 1st team All-State as a sophomore and junior. She holds numerous Lakota West season records including highest batting average, highest slugging percentage, highest on-base percentage, most doubles, most home runs, most extra-base hits, most RBI’s, most runs scored and most walks in a season. In addition, she also has the most career RBI’s and most runs scored. Last season, she held a .488 batting average and a .611 on-base percentage, 43 RBI’s and 10 home runs “Allie loves the game of softball and she works very hard to become a better softball player every day. She has helped our softball family these last 4 years on and off the softball field. Allie is one of the best softball players I have coached in my 30 years of coaching,” said Lakota West Head Softball Coach Keith Castner.
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Keegan Fish -Baseball – Ohio State University
Keegan Fish was 2nd team All-GMC as a sophomore catcher before suffering an injury missing most of his junior season. As a sophomore, Fish recorded a .471 OBP and a team-leading seven doubles. Fish has also been a three year starter on the varsity basketball team. “Keegan Fish has developed a work ethic and dedication to become the most complete baseball player possible. He is a plus defender, switch hitter with a good eye at the plate, and possesses a great baseball mind. Keegan will continue to add to his success at The Ohio State University,” said Lakota West Head Baseball Coach Greg Leurck.
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Camille Johnston-Lacrosse– University of Cincinnati
Camille Johnston will be a four-year varsity starter and two-year captain at midfield this spring. As a freshman, she was named Lakota West Rookie of the Year and the team MVP the last two seasons. She was also named 2nd team All-Region as a junior. Johnston led the team in scoring last season with 65 goals. Johnston is also a varsity cross country runner and swimmer at Lakota West. “Camille has always been a leader of this team since she started as a freshman. Her dedication, teamwork and reliability have always made Cam a stand out on our team. It has been an honor to watch Cam grow not only as a player but as a person, on and off the field. As a team we congratulate Camille in her accomplishment to play at UC! She will be a great addition,” said Lakota West Head Coach Kalin Hodel.
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Olivia Hocker-Lacrosse-Mount St. Joseph University
Olivia Hocker will be a three-year varsity starter at midfield. Hocker recorded 14 goals and six assists her junior season. “Olivia has always been a player that is not scared of any challenge, so playing at the next level will come naturally for her! Her aggressiveness and determination have helped to lead her team to play at a higher level as well. Her leadership and teamwork will be missed and we congratulate Olivia on playing at Mount St Joe,” said Lakota West Head Coach Kalin Hodel.
