16 OHS seniors make collegiate dream official

Derek Klecker, Writer|February 1, 2022

Designed by Derek Klecker

16 senior student-athletes will be signing their national letter of intent on Wednesday.

NCAA Signing Day Preview

On February 2, 16 senior student-athletes from OHS will be putting pen to paper, making their move to the next level official. For these student-athletes, this is something they have worked for their entire life and something they have dreamed about since they were young. 

With many student-athletes signing on Feb. 2, National Signing Day, across the nation, OHS has held a ceremony to recognize these student-athletes for about 15 years now.  Athletic Director Marc Achterkirch said, “I think it’s cool to recognize the kids that are making that commitment to go to the next level but also recognize all the hard work and dedication these kids put into getting here.” 

Each student-athlete will come up front with their parents and sign their national letter of intent. For Division l and Division ll athletes, this is an actual binding contract saying the student-athlete is fully committed to the school and the school is fully committed to them. For Division lll and NJCAA, it is not a binding contract, but it’s still saying they are committed to that school. Mr. Achterkirch said, “Obviously education is number one but sometimes people don’t realize how hard it is to compete at the collegiate level so for them to have that opportunity to play at any level, that’s pretty cool.” 

 

Now that each of their recruitments are over and will soon be officially signed to their chosen school, the next step is connecting with their coaches and starting workout programs from the school. 

OHS Magnet will be publishing individual profiles of all 16 student-athletes listed here throughout the winter.

The NCAA Signing Day ceremony will be held in the small group forum at OHS at 2:45 p.m. and is open to anyone that wants to come and watch. OHS student-athletes that will be recognized:  Grant Achterkirch, Zoe Anderson, Kya Dixon, Rian Grunwald, Kanin Hable, Olivia Herzog, Parris Hovden, Landen Johnson, Dylan Maas, Preston Meier, Lexi Mendenhall, Taylor Schlauderaff, Caleb Vereide, Brayden Williams, Mason Zirngible and Max Zirngible.