McMinnville, Amity honor college bound athletes

Nathan Ecker/News-Register##Trenton Ruston, Jaxson Howard, Alyssa McMullen, Lyliana Rideout, Haley Miersma, Eliza Nisly and Emma Northrop sign their letters of intent to play college sports during Amity’s signing day in the Warrior gymnasium on Wednesday, May 13. Ruston and Howard still have track and field championships in their sights before graduation, while the group of girls went on to win a flag football tournament game two hours later.

Nathan Ecker/News-Register## McMinnville’s group of future collegiate student-athletes pose for a photograph at their signing celebration in the MHS food court on Wednesday. From left to right, back row: Cam Hyder, Tomas Merlier, Olin Hamilton, Keller Shea, Brian Lewis, Josh Lewis, Brooklyn Summer and Ruby Riddle. Front row: Charlie Vander Meide, Juan Vargas, Abraham “Cruz” Cuevas-George, Sebastion Lopez, Mallory Symons, Marley Darling Peterson, Brooke Johnston, Madeline Hendricks and Ava Fleishman.

More than two dozen athletes between the high schools of Amity and McMinnville were recognized by their peers on Wednesday as the programs officially recognized their students’ plans to combine academics and athletics at the next level.

Within the McMinnville High food court, Grizzlies’ Athletic Director Ryan McIrvin handed out honorary first period absentee slips to all 19 prospective college student-athletes graduating this spring, most of which were able to attend the morning festivities.

The list of Grizzlies who signed letters of intent included: Cameron Hyder (Lower Columbia Community College), Brooklynn Summers (Northwest Nazarene), Tomas Merlier (Linn-Benton Community College), Abraham “Cruz” Cuevas-George (Southern Oregon University), Juan Vargas (Willamette University), Sebastian Lopez (UCAM Murcia CF-Spain), Ava Fleischman (Benedictine University), Mallory Symons (Lewis and Clark College), Marley Darling Peterson (Lane Community College), Keller Shea (University of the Pacific), Olin Hamilton (College of Idaho), Maddie Hendricks (Puget Sound University), Brian and Josh Lewis (George Fox University), Brooke Johnston (Central Washington University), Ruby Riddle (Westmont College), Charlie Vander Meide (Umpqua Community College), Kason Elkins (Clackamas Community College) and Antonio Virruetta (Corban University).

Playing basketball are Summers and Merlier, while Hyder and Fleischman are the lone seniors to be furthering their opportunities on the respective baseball and softball diamonds.

Darling Peterson and Symons will participate in soccer, along with Cuevas-George, Vargas, Virruetta and Lopez. Lopez’s situation is unique, as he will be living in Spain while playing professional soccer for Universidad Católica de Murcia Club de Fútbol (UCAM Murcia CF), a team in the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system.

Shea and Hamilton will be swimming, and Hendricks will compete as a member of the Loggers’ women’s tennis team.

The Lewis brothers, Johnston, Riddle and Elkins will continue doing track and field, while Vander Meide will become the second of his brothers to wrestle in college after Max Vander Meide at Linfield.

Standing out to McIrvin was the character of each individual honored.

“Every single one of them have strong academics, solid leadership, good work ethic, but are also just quality kids that do the right thing,” McIrvin said. “It’s not like everything’s gone their way. They’ve overcome some adversity, but have persevered, matured and set themselves up for bright futures.”

Unlike past years, the athletes decided to have one joint signing day, rather than separate events in the fall and spring. To the group, it was most important to celebrate with one another and their friends and family in attendance.

“They just seem like they’re in it for each other,” McIrvin said. “They want their individual accomplishments, but everyone spoke about their teammates and the lasting memories and those kinds of things that I think meant more to them.”

In Amity, the Warriors faithfully gathered to recognize one of their biggest classes of students continuing to play college sports.

For the first time, Amity Athletic Director Tashi Haarsma also had the opportunity to hold the ceremony inside of the school’s newest gymnasium, where several of the Warriors celebrated two championships this school year.

The Warriors’ seven college signees were: Trenton Ruston (Oregon Institute of Technology), Jaxson Howard (California State University Northridge), Haley Miersma (Corban), Eliza Nisly (Corban), Alyssa McMullen (Pacific University), Lyliana Rideout (Linn-Benton) and Emma Northrop (Klamath Falls Community College).

Ruston and Howard will each continue their track and field careers. Meanwhile, McMullen and Rideout will be furthering their time spent on the basketball court, where they became two-time 3A State Champions in March.

Miersma, Nisly and Northup — all members of the Warriors’ championship-winning soccer team — plan to keep playing the sport. McMullen and Rideout were also on Amity’s soccer squad.

For Haarsma, the ceremony meant the most to Amity’s development of its athletes and the inspiration they are providing for the next groups to fill their shoes.

“It just means a lot because I think about who is seeing this, and them not only as their athletes, but just who they are as people, and I want our future to aspire to that,” Haarsma said. “A small school like ours, having seven athletes go and play at the next level is huge. It just speaks volumes.”

All the Warriors leaving for new pastures agreed that they will miss their community the most while off at college, a place where they all took extra measures to become involved away from athletics.

“They have a lot of resilience, and they’re go-getters, not just in sports, but academically and in the community,” Haarsma said. “We have a leadership program, and most of these kids are in it. They help any chance they can get in every setting that they’re in.”