From left to right: Carson Schroeder, Cordell Tinch, Matt Rotter, Sophia Thibert, Savannah Huben, Anna Gulan and Olivia Mabry were honored in an April 11 ceremony at the high school.
BY RICH PALZEWIC
CORRESPONDENT
SUAMICO – For seven Bay Port student-athletes, their dreams became reality in an April 11 ceremony at the high school.
The seven – Anna Gulan, Savannah Huben, Olivia Mabry, Matt Rotter, Carson Schroeder, Sophia Thibert and Cordell Tinch – either signed their national letters of intent to continue their athletic and academic careers at various D1 and D2 colleges in the Midwest next fall, or were honored for doing so earlier this year.
“I couldn’t be prouder of these young individuals,” said first-year activities director Brian Matz. “It’s a very special day for them and their families. They’ve worked hard to get to this point and they are being rewarded for those efforts.”
Gulan will be heading to D2 Michigan Tech University in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan city of Houghton. Known for its 200-plus inches of snow a year, Gulan will be playing soccer for the Huskies. She was a big part of why the Pirates made it to the WIAA D1 state finals a season ago where she recorded a goal and had six assists during the year.
Huben, who signed with the D2 University of Indianapolis Greyhounds, has been a standout cross-country and track star for the last four years at Bay Port. She is a four-time state qualifier in cross-country and a two-time qualifier in track.
Mabry will pole vault at D2 Grand Valley State University in Michigan. She holds the school record (12 feet) in that discipline and finished sixth a season ago at the state meet in La Crosse.
The 6-foot-3, 280-pound Rotter will play football for D2 St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. Rotter was an honorable-mention choice this past season as an offensive lineman for the 11-1 Pirates.
Schroeder is also going the football route with the D2 Northern State University Wolves in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Schroeder is projected to be a safety after more than likely redshirting his freshman season.
Thibert is a four-time state qualifier in swimming and a two time qualifier in track. Despite her success in the pool and on the track, Thibert decided to go a different route and will row for the UW-Madison (D1) lightweight crew team.
Tinch will be taking his talents to the University of Minnesota (D1). A two-time state champ in track and field (triple jump, long jump), Tinch will also walk-on with the Gophers’ football team, but expects to redshirt his freshman year. Tinch set the state record in the triple jump last season with a leap of just over 49 feet. He was also first-team all-conference earlier this year in both football and basketball.
Note: If any student-athletes/parents would like the high-resolution images from signing day, contact Rich via email ([email protected]) or Twitter (@richpalzewic).
