HMHS senior athletes commit to colleges on Feb. 4
National Signing Day was on Wednesday, Feb. 4. It is the day when high school student athletes who’ve spent years being recruited by college football programs can officially sign a letter of intent to join their new programs. Haddonfield decided to use the day to acknowledge all the athletes accepting so far.
“We use this day, National Signing Day, which is for football all across the county, to publicize the commitments that the rest of our future college student athletes have made,” HMHS athletic director Lefteris Banos said.
In celebration of National Signing Day, families gathered at the Haddonfield Memorial High School library to celebrate and take pictures of high school senior athletes who have signed their letters of intent.
Thirteen seniors from football, crew, track and field, baseball and tennis were there.
Those students, their sport and college are: Matt Jones, baseball, Manhattan College; Erica McCaughey, crew, Stetson College; Paul Hurd, crew, United States Naval Academy; Catherine Montegna, crew, Franklin and Marshall; Christopher Howe-Smith, crew, Franklin and Marshall; Nick Rollo, football, Gettysburg; Jake Robinson, football, Temple University; Mark Walker, football, Lehigh University; Tyler Klaus, football, William and Mary University; Tom Dodson, tennis, Villanova; Carly Bonnet, track and field, Princeton University; Chris Goings, track and field, Haverford College; and Danny Brennan, track and field, The College of New Jersey.
Many of the seniors were excited to get their letters of intent, but they also were feeling another emotion — relief. All their hard work over the years finally paid off and got them the acceptance into the school they felt was right for them.
“I felt really excited. It felt like a weight off your shoulders. Freshman through junior year, basically all you think about every day is: where am I going to school? Am I going to get into the schools I want to get into? And it ended up working out. It is just a really good feeling,” Walker said.
“It was awesome to finally get the paper and be able to finally say that I am admitted there. It’s a lot of stress relief,” Klaus said.
The athletes applied to the schools they intend to go to for different reasons, from academics to athletics and from the campus to the people. Ultimately, they all said it felt right.
“It’s the highest level possible in college football,” Robinson said of Temple University. “The coaches there are great. I just fell in love with the campus, full of good coaches and good people. When I went on my official, that is when I saw the real culture of the football team. It is a close family and that is something that I wanted to be a part of.”
“It’s pretty great because it reminds me a lot of Haddonfield,” Walker said of Lehigh University. “It has a really rich football tradition; it’s a great school. It felt like I was moving on to the next level, but keeping to my roots.”
Banos said it was great to see so many students being accepted into schools and getting scholarships for their accomplishments. He hopes the seniors felt Haddonfield’s school, faculty and coaches have given them the base they need and are going to utilize that knowledge at the next level.
Ultimately, Banos wants students to remember that no matter where they go, the senior athletes will always be Bulldawgs.
“They are going to be at different towns and different schools, but they’re always going to be Bulldawgs and always going to represent Haddonfield no matter where they play,” Banos said. “We look forward to cheering on their successes from far away and making us proud, even if they don’t wear the Haddonfield uniform anymore.”
