National Signing Day, held on November 10, was the first day that high school seniors could sign a binding letter of intent committing to a NCAA-member college as student-athletes. Latin held a celebratory signing day in the Upper School lobby to honor Latin’s student-athletes who have already committed to playing a collegiate sport. This fall, Latin had a masked and socially distanced signing day, but it will hopefully host a larger Commitment Day celebration come springtime. It is likely that more Latin athletes will be committing to a collegiate sport as the year progresses, and each of them will be celebrated as well.

Nine seniors have already committed:

Sean Episcope (Baseball, Princeton University)
Sean Episcope is set to commit to Princeton University for baseball. Sean is a four-year varsity letter winner, and went All League as a freshman.

Sam Gibson (Soccer, Williams College)
Sam Gibson, captain of the varsity boys soccer team, is set to commit to Williams College. Sam is a four-year varsity letter winner, has been All League, All Sectional, and the conference Player of the Year.

Nora Goodwillie (Rowing, Stanford University)
Nora Goodwillie will commit to Stanford University. Nora was girls varsity’s most improved rower at the Chicago Rowing Foundation in 2020, and was named their varsity girls MVP from in 2021.

Ryan Hardiman (Cross Country and Track, Williams College)
Ryan Hardiman, captain of the state champion cross country team and member of the track team, is set to commit to Williams College. Ryan is a four-year varsity letter winner, and went All Conference, All Regional, and All Sectional. He broke the school’s cross country record at the recent state championship meet, becoming the first runner in Latin history to finish the three-mile race in under 15 minutes.

Ryan Kramer (Baseball, College of Wooster)
Ryan Kramer is set to commit to the College of Wooster for baseball. Ryan is a four-year varsity letter winner, went All League as a freshman, and was named the Player of the Year last season.

Lucy Mitchell (Tennis, Tufts University)
Lucy Mitchell is set to commit to Tufts University for tennis. Lucy is a girls state tennis champion in doubles, and she also led the team to a second place finish at state this season. She has been designated All League and All State and has won MVP awards.

Lucy Norris (Field Hockey, Bates College)
Lucy Norris will commit to Bates College for field hockey. Lucy is a four-year award winner, helped lead the Latin girls varsity field hockey team to their first ISL championship in 20 years, and went All IHSFHA.

Ava Parekh (Cross Country and Track, Stanford University)
Ava Parekh, captain of the girls varsity cross country and track teams, is set to commit to Stanford University. Ava is a cross country and track four-year varsity letter winner, has won individual titles at state in both cross country and track, and had the single best time in the state at any level in cross country this season. She helped lead the girls track team to the state title in her junior year.

Emilia Rose (Golf, Bowdoin College)
Emilia Rose is captain of the girls golf team, and will commit to Bowdoin College. Emilia is a four-year award winner and has been designated All League, All State, and MVP.

Tim Cronister, Director of Student Life and Interim Director of Athletics at Latin, said, “NCAA signing day is a time to celebrate the hard work that goes into sports. These students have made big sacrifices.”

“Participating in a Division 1 sport is very much like having a full time job,” he said. “It involves commitment and dedication.” Latin has celebrated NCAA Signing Day for about seven years. According to Mr. Cronister, the number of Latin student-athletes committing to a collegiate sport has been growing since its inception.

Two student-athletes who participated in signing day are Sam Gibson and Emilia Rose. For Sam, sports have been a large part of his Latin experience. Playing soccer helped him appreciate Latin’s close community. Coming into the Upper School, Sam was a multi-sport athlete, but he felt the need to decide between track and soccer and dedicate all of his time and effort to that one sport. Sam advises students who are thinking about committing to a collegiate sport to start early, and he thinks that Latin has done a great job preparing him for college because he has attained the skill of balancing schoolwork and sports during his time in the Upper School. “I feel privileged to play a sport I love so much,” he said. “Playing sports at a collegiate level has been a dream of mine forever.”

Emilia also said that sports have been an integral part of her Latin experience. She remembers how golf helped her make new friends during the transition into high school. This season was her most memorable. “All the hard work over four years of playing in Upper School built up to me receiving the All State award,” she said.

Upon entering the Upper School, Emilia sailed and played basketball, tennis and golf. She knew that buckling down on one sport was the best way for her to play at the collegiate level. Emilia chose golf because she thinks “the individuality of the sport is unique, and it requires you to be focused and independent.” Emilia believes that Latin has prepared her for college because she learned to balance schoolwork and sports, which she will continue doing at Bowdoin. Emilia’s biggest piece of advice for anyone thinking about pursuing a college sports career is to “stay committed to your goals, and never give up.”