On May 2, five student athletes attended a signing ceremony to sign their letters of intent to play at various colleges. These five athletes were seniors Jacob Morales, who will play baseball at University of Hawaii-Hilo; Clarissa Kiyomura, who will play basketball at Occidental College; Arturo Felix, who will play baseball at La Sierra University; Gabbi Lewis, who will play golf at Sonoma State University; and Daniel Rodriguez who will play football at Knox College.

Jacob, who is a pitcher on Boy’s Varsity Baseball, will be attending the University of Hawaii-Hilo next year. He revealed that he had offers with Cal Poly Pomona, Southern University, University of San Diego, and University of California, Riverside before he got injured and could not train for four months. He said, “It was a long process and a bumpy road, but I finally found a new home for the next four years.” One of the deciding factors for him was that half of the games in Hawaii-Hilo’s schedule will be in California. Another reason he stated that he committed to Hawaii-Hilo was that “there wasn’t really a decision process because I got hurt and was out for four months, so as soon as I was healthy enough to play, I got back into it and when Hawaii’s offer came, I took it because it was so late in the game and they gave me a great offer to play in paradise.”

The next athlete is Clarissa, who will be attending Occidental College which is located in Los Angeles. This previous season, Clarissa was the starting point guard for Girl’s Varsity Basketball. When asked about why she will attend Occidental she commented, “At Oxy, I will be able to play basketball again, which is something unique to this school.” She also noted another factor that swayed her, “There are less than 25 students in most classes, meaning I will get individualized help from my classes.” Since Occidental is a Division 3 school, coaches are not allowed to recruit. In her talks with the coach, Clarissa said, “she basically told me that if I went to Oxy, I couldn’t be guaranteed playing time, but I would be guaranteed a great experience on a great team at a great school.”

The third of the athletes who signed on May 2 was Arturo, who is an infielder for Boy’s Varsity Baseball. He will be attending the University of La Sierra, which is located in Riverside, California. One of the biggest factors for him was the location and how comfortable he felt going there. “I decided to go to La Sierra because I know for the next four years of me attending the school, I will grow,” he replied when asked about why he decided to go to that specific university. He also said, “You really want to go to a school where you see yourself growing and becoming a better ball player.” La Sierra ended up being the best fit, allowing him to feel at home.

One more athlete that signed with the rest of the bunch was Gabbi, who will be attending Sonoma State to play golf. She said that her process was “definitely not easy.” When being asked on why she made the decision to go to Sonoma she stated, “I really loved the campus when I visited. I also really liked the coach and team; everyone was so nice to me and I felt at home.” After visiting the university, it ended up becoming a much easier decision and she said that “the coach didn’t have to do much convincing; he was really genuine, and I easily saw myself there.”

The last athlete who signed was Daniel, who will be attending Knox College for his football career. Located in Galesburg, Illinois, Knox College is an extremely competitive school in its athletics, as it is currently a member of the Midwest Conference of the NCAA at the Division III level. Daniel notes that he’s “excited and prepared” to play at the college level. When asked why he chose Knox he said, “I’ve been looking [to go to] Knox for a while now; after seeing the campus and their love for sports, I knew it was the best choice for me.” On his future at the college he noted enthusiastically, “Knox is undoubtedly a great college, and I’m sure that, with my passion for the sport, I’ll play well and love my time there.”

With these talented athletes set to play in college, it looks like there is enough talent in the junior class to make up for these talented seniors. It also looks like these athletes will bring a lot to their new school and we wish them luck in their future endeavors at their respective colleges.

Photo by Jocelyn Hu