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Highlanders take center stage at signing ceremony
| | | By: Darrell Hamlett, Assistant Sports Editor | 02/02/2005 |
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Fourteen The Woodlands High student-athletes enjoy the spotlight at the school's signing ceremony on Wednesday afternoon in the auditorium. (Staff photo by JERRY BAKER)
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Six different sports were represented at the Signing Day ceremony in the school's auditoriom where the athletes announced their intentions in front of family, friends, classmates, and coaches. The Highlanders also thanked those that have supported them during their high school careers.
Highlighting the class of signees was Kyle Anderson who accepted a football scholarship with LSU. The 6-6, 260-pound tight end was one of the top recruits in the nation at his position according to several rankings and committed to the 2003 national champions early in the recruiting process.
"When I first committed, coach (Nick) Saban was still there and their way of recruiting is second to none," said Anderson, who was a three-year letterman at TWHS. "They really came after me hard and once they got me down there, I just kind of fell in love with everything down there. The way they persuaded me was with their offense. I just liked it a lot."
When Saban left the Tigers last month to become the new coach of the Miami Dolphins, Anderson said he considered other schools including Texas, Miami, Texas A&M, and Nebraska.
"The coaching change was a difference. I had to overcome it a little bit," said the two-time first team all-county performer. "It just kind of opened it all back up once the coaching changed occurred."
Ultimately, the lure of LSU and new coach Les Miles was enough to keep Anderson headed to Baton Rouge.
"That's the place I wanted to be, it was just a matter of finding more out about coach Miles and all the other coaches," said Anderson.
Another Highlander football standout signing a Division I scholarship on Wednesday was Craig Hendrix. The two-time all-county linebacker will play collegiately at the Air Force Academy.
"It has the best education possible for me and they also gave the opportunity to play football," said Hendrix. "Afterwards, I get to serve my country. It's going to be a great career opportunity for me."
Also heading to the state of Colorado is fellow linebacker A.J. Montalvo, who signed with the Colorado School of Mines. The 2004 County Defensive MVP will be joining an Oredigger program that went undefeated last year in the regular season and advanced to the Division II playoffs.
"They're the only school I felt that could satisfy me academically and athletically," said Montalvo, who earned honorable mention all-state honors as a junior. "They just won their conference in football and they also send people straight out from college into the work force. That's what I was looking for in a college and that's what I found there."
The final TWHS football signee was Eric Paul, who will be heading to the Ivy League. The first team all-county wide receiver, who is ranked No. 6 in his class, will play for former Stanford head coach Buddy Teevens at Dartmouth.
"I like the people. The people there were great," said Paul. "They were really hospitable and reminded me of home. Everybody was welcoming."
Another TWHS senior headed to the Ivy League is Amanda Renz, who will play volleyball at Penn. She earned county and district Defensive Player of the Year honors last fall after helping the Lady Highlanders win the 14-5A crown. Renz, whose father attended graduate school at Penn, said she chose the Quakers because of their top-ranked business school and their competitive volleyball team.
"I figured if I could combine the top academics in the country with volleyball, then that would be really good," said Renz.
Another successful Lady Highlander team - the girls soccer squad - had three of its members sign letters-of-intent on Wednesday.
Heading to Ohio is Ashley Fairhurst, who will play at Denison University, a Division III school. The midfielder earned honorable mention all-district recognition as a junior.
Meagan Shisler chose to stay in state and play for Texas Lutheran University. The future Lady Bulldog earned the District 15-5A Defender of the Year award last year.
Forward Emily Cleaveland will compete at Louisiana Tech next fall. She earned first team all-district and all-region honors last year.
The Highlander baseball program also had three players announce their intentions for college.
Wayne Hrozek will join 2004 Junior College World Series participant Pensacola Junior College. The two-sport star, who earned all-county honors in both baseball and football, batted .391 with four home runs, 32 RBIs, and five stolen bases as a junior in 2004.
Taylor Davis will join former Highlanders Aaron Cook and Elliott Roberts at Panola Junior College in Carthage. As junior, Davis posted a .417 batting average with five RBIs and one homer. On the mound, he had a 2-0 record in 11 games with a 5.93 ERA and 32 strikeouts.
Heading to Midland Junior College is Bryce Ary. Last year, he went 2-0 on the mound in three games with a 3.89 ERA. He also had three RBIs in 18 at-bats.
Competing in swimming in college will be Emily Smidlein and Ashley McClelland. Smidlein will be attending Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va. while McClelland will compete for the University of New Orleans.
Rounding out the group of signees is Nick Gilligan who accepted a lacrosse scholarship from Amherst College in Massachusetts. The Jeffs are a nationally-ranked Division III team.
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©Houston Community Newspapers Online 2005
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