West Chester, OH (May 18, 2021)
Lakota West Athletic Department hosted a final end of school year athletic signing event on Tuesday afternoon in the Lakota West Community Room. Four more Senior Firebirds signed their commitment letters to continue their academic and athletic careers at their respective schools. Senior Football Players Josh Brogden and Daniel Laritz joined the 12 other football seniors who have already signed earlier in the school year (Link to Story). The Firebirds now boast 179 football players in Lakota West history to make the college football commitment since the school opened in 1997. In addition to the two football players, Seniors Michael Lane (track/cross country), and Leah Abribat (basketball) made their commitments official.
The Firebirds also saw 12 athletes sign in the fall signing ceremony in November (Link to fall story) and five athletes in the spring signing ceremony in April (Link to spring story) bringing the total number of signed athletes to 29 for the Class of 2021.
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Daniel Laritz-Football– Rose Hulman Institute of Technology
The 6’2” 215lb defensive lineman has been a two year varsity player. “Dan was a solid fourth man on the defensive front. Contributing weekly up and down the defensive line of scrimmage and even playing on special teams. For a defensive lineman, Dan runs exceptionally well and competes at a high level. He leads by example both on and off the field. He’s a great student, teammate, and an even better all around young man. He has a great combination of size, speed and smarts that will fit in well at Rose Hulman,” said Lakota West Head Coach Tom Bolden.
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Josh Brogden-Football-Ohio University
The 5’10” 215 pound running back is also an All-GMC first team wrestler. “Josh was part of a one two punch in the Firebirds backfield last year. He carried 50 times for 327 yards (a 6.5 yards per carry average). Punching in 3 touchdowns one of which was over 35 yards. He is one big ball of muscle and can be difficult to bring down. The walk on will be a great find for the Ohio University Bobcats,” said Lakota West Head Coach Tom Bolden.
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Leah Abribat-Basketball– Miami University-Hamilton
The 5’7” guard is a two year varsity starter for the Firebirds. As a senior, she averaged 8.3 points, 1.3 steals, 2.5 rebounds per game. “Leah’s basketball skill and intensity grew each year she was in the program. Her responsibility, dependability, timely shooting, and perfect free throw shooting her senior year helped our team to a 20-5 record. Leah graduates as a loyal, hard working, team player who will be an asset to the Miami-Hamilton program; she is continuing to work out and improving as a basketball player. I love seeing her still in the gym,” said Lakota West Head Coach Andy Fishman.
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Michael Lane-Track/XC– Ohio University
After moving from varsity soccer to varsity cross country, Lane was first team All-GMC in his first and only year on the cross country team. “Michael in his first year as a Cross Country Runner excelled. He turned in a personal best time of 16:23 in the 5K, 9:47 in the 3200 and 4:41 in the 1600. These are exceptional times for anyone, but for a first-year runner 16:23 is amazing. Michael’s hard work ethic and dedication to his training and teammates are what set him apart from others. He will be missed as he heads to Ohio University,” said Lakota West Head Cross Country Coach Sean Hart.
