Senior athletes from various sports met in the NC Arena February 1 for national signing day. Players, coaches and supporters from the baseball, volleyball, lacrosse, soccer and football teams gathered Wednesday morning to watch the athletes commit to their colleges. 

The first signee, baseball captain Kyle Robitzsch, will continue his athletic and academic career at the University of North Georgia (UNG). Robitzch played all four years on varsity as a shortstop. Despite the struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic, he continued to train, which earned him his division II offer at UNG.

“The recruitment process was long but fun, it was nice knowing a team really wanted you to play for them. At first I never even heard of UNG. I was introduced to the school and program by a coach of mine and he told me to go to one of their camps. After the camp, [Kane Keith] the recruiting coordinator, kept up with me for the next 8-9 months. I took my official visit at the end of July and fell in love with the school. I made my decision to go there a week or so after,” Robitzch said. 

The next signee, volleyball player Elena Brown, also played four years on varsity as the team’s libero. Brown hit 1000 digs during her senior season and traveled to various locations across the US for tournaments with her club teams throughout her club volleyball career. Brown marked the second volleyball team commit, following Jaidyn Garcia who committed and signed with Lehigh University. Brown will play her college years at York University in York, Nebraska.

Matheus Talone and Jonathan Castro will continue playing lacrosse at LaGrange College. They will start their freshman year with Talone as a midfielder and faceoff specialist and Castro as the team’s goalie. The lacrosse duo, currently playing through their senior year, will move and room together at the division II school following graduation.

Zia Tomlin and Symone Thomas stood as the only soccer signees. The players will stay local with Tomlin playing division III soccer as a center forward at Emory University, and Thomas playing division I as a center back at Kennesaw State University (KSU). With both standing as active members of the National Honors Society and team captains, the girls will lead their teammates throughout their final season.

“I have been playing soccer since I was three years old and have always aspired to play soccer in college. It is the best feeling to achieve your goals, and it would not have been possible without my family, coaches, teammates and friends. I have made many sacrifices for this sport and it has finally paid off. I look forward to playing at KSU for the next 4 years,” Thomas said.

Finally, the football team held the majority of the commits with four players signing. Taizon Perkins will continue as an outside back at Stetson University in Florida. Darius Dye will travel to Tennessee to play division II as a wide receiver at Carson-Newman University. Star running back, David Mbadinga will stay in Georgia after committing to play division I at Georgia Southern University. The last commit of the day, wide receiver Xavier Jackson, signed his full-ride scholarship to play division II in North Carolina at Wingate University. All football players managed a 3.5 GPA or higher and finished their senior season after they reached the second round of playoffs. 

The seniors hold important roles on their teams as supporters and motivators to their teammates. As captains and mentors on their team, the impact the players made throughout their high school careers will linger with the players and coaches in the years to come.