This past Thursday night, 13 RM senior student athletes signed their National Letters of Intent (NLIs), to finalize what college they will be attending and playing a varsity sport at next year. Signing night has become an annual tradition for student athletes who aspire to take their talents to a higher and more competitive level. Signing an NLI marks the end of the long recruiting process for seniors since other colleges and universities are prohibited from recruiting these athletes once they have signed letters with other schools.

Amongst the recruited include Daniel Alexander, who has committed to playing football at Frostburg State University. “I thank both my track and field and football coaches for shaping the athlete I am today,” Alexander remarked during his speech. Another student athlete staying here in Maryland is Abigail Hernandez, who will be continuing her volleyball career at McDaniel College.

Alexander’s football teammate Jhordan Greene will attend Wesley College in the fall. “I’m so excited because I get to fulfill my dream and continue something I love to do,” Greene said. “I want to thank Coach Klotz for everything, being my father figure and coach. Bless up to him, it’s only the beginning.”

Julian Stover has committed to playing basketball for Hood College next year. Stover looks back on the tremendous progress he has made, starting from when he got cut from “tryouts during my sophomore year because of being academically ineligible.” This was an eyeopener for the basketball star, and his passion for the sport fueled him and pushed him to work harder both in class and on the court.

Devon Goetz, a three-sport athlete at RM, is split between attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to play field hockey and softball or the Naval Academy to compete in crew and track. Goetz missed three seasons of athletics after a torn ACL in her junior year.

“It’s an absolutely incredible feeling to know that my ACL didn’t hold me back from the opportunity to participate in college athletics,” Goetz said. “When I found out it was torn, one of my first reactions was fear that the door to college athletics had shut. I’m honestly so grateful to everyone who supported me and helped me to persevere through the injury, and have the chance to continue playing sports.”

Meanwhile, Vanessa Martinez Penn and Sarah Savonis will be heading to Haverford College to play soccer together. “I’m most excited to make really close friends on the team and to become the best player I’ve ever been. I hope that Sarah and I will be able to keep playing together for all four years and use the leadership skills that we gained at RM on our new team,” Martinez Penn said.

Phil Colevas will continue his golf career at Indiana Tech. Colevas was a part of the Maryland Golf State Championships his sophomore, junior and senior years at RM.

Traveling across the United States, Cynthia Kipserem will be joining the cross country team at New Mexico College in the fall. She recalled being amongst the slowest runners on the team her freshman and sophomore years, but slowly working her way up because of the support of “great teammates and Coach Rogers who had faith in me.” She is looking forward to being a part of the Thunderbird family and to performing at a collegiate level.

Three Rocket swimmers will be swimming in college. Audrey Richter is attending Columbia University, and will compete on their rising Ivy League swim team. Bouke Edskes and Eli Samuelson will swim at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wooster College, respectively.

Lacrosse star Ben Rosenberg will attend the Coast Guard Academy, where he will balance academics, lacrosse, and service. “Making the decision to commit the next nine years to going to an incredibly challenging school, and then serving as a military officer was daunting when I received my appointment,” Rosenberg admitted. “After visiting the Academy’s lacrosse team and seeing how close and supportive the family was, I knew I wasn’t going to get that experience anywhere else.”

Madeleine Cheng and Andy Kostka contributed to this report.