By Natalie Delcorps

Several seniors at Batavia High School have recently committed to play college athletics in the fall. From volleyball to rowing, this batch of kids is looking forward to continuing their sport in college.

For these seniors, many coaches start coming to tournaments and scouting players their junior year. Senior pitcher Mitch Boyer went to three showcases in the winter for coaches to see if he could handle playing college baseball. After that, came an email and then a phone call from a coach at Creighton.

“They have a great business school and I really like that. And I really like the coaches,” said senior Mitch Boyer, who is playing baseball and planning on majoring in sports marketing at Creighton in Omaha, Neb. next year. Mitch Boyer has been playing baseball since he was six.

Choosing a college is tough, but these students have made wise decisions of why they would choose one school over another. Like other seniors, many students weigh location, setting, academics, and size as some of their major decision-makers, but for these students, athletics play a huge part in the college process.

“I was mostly in between U of Mass. and Georgetown. This one was just it. Everything just worked,” said senior Ryanne Rokos, who committed to play softball at Bucknell University in the fall. She plans on majoring in biochemistry. “It was a little smaller but I like the team, it’s strong academically, and has division 1 athletics.”

Senior soccer player Ali Grimm explained her reasoning for picking DePauw. “I chose this school over other schools because it offered the most balance,” said Grimm, who plans on majoring in business next year. “DePauw is fantastic academically and that was my first priority when I chose schools. I am in love with the fact that I get to play soccer, as well as enjoy every other aspect that the university has to offer.”

“Being able to play soccer at DePauw means that I get to continue a very big part of my life for four more years.  I have been playing soccer for as long as I can remember, and I wasn’t ready to put the cleats away just yet,” said Grimm. “The facilities at DePauw were amazing.  I feel very fortunate that I will be able to use them and play soccer on their beautiful field.”

Senior athletes:

Mitch Boyer – Creighton University (Baseball)

Steven Boyer – Elgin Community College (Baseball)

Olivia Calipari – Lindenwood University (Soccer)

Ali Grimm – DePauw University (Soccer)

Maddie Jaudon – Elon University (Volleyball)

Nick Konopacki – University of Wisconsin-Platteville (Soccer)

Sarah Konopacki – Drake University (Rowing)

Ryanne Rokos – Bucknell University (Softball)

Karina Rosales – University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (Soccer)

Mary Signorella – Clarke University (Softball)

Kayla Stolfa – Eastern Illinois University (Soccer)