Focus on local players Signing day
By Rick Cassano
Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN — Mike Asbeck beamed as he glanced around the Fenwick High School cafeteria Wednesday.
Nine Falcon student-athletes made their college choices official on National Signing Day. That’s a very big number for a small school like FHS.
“I think this will be a regular event for us,” said Asbeck, Fenwick’s athletic director. “It says a lot about how far we’ve come. And a lot of these kids are multi-sport athletes.
“I’m in a position where I get to see the blood, sweat and tears out on the field, and to be able to see them signing and have their educations taken care of in the future is very rewarding,” he continued. “I hope it sends a message to the couple hundred students we had in here today that if they do the same thing, it’ll happen for them.”
Signing for soccer were four members of the Falcons girls team: midfielder Sydney Neal (Miami), forward MacKenzie Hamilton (Indiana State), defender Selby Smith (Indiana State) and goalkeeper Morgan Madden (Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne). Swimmer Serena Daley committed to Butler.
In football, quarterback Austin Gearing (Miami), two-way end Nick Durham (Columbia), two-way tackle Mike Koehlke (Ohio Dominican) and linebacker-wingback Nick Marchetti (Notre Dame College) finalized their selections.
“It’s a credit to everything they’ve done in four years,” Fenwick football coach Fred Cranford said.
Durham has decided to join the Ivy League at Columbia, where he feels he can get a prestigious degree and play right away for the NCAA Division I-AA Lions.
In December, Columbia hired a new coach (Pete Mangurian) with an extensive NFL background. The Lions haven’t had a winning season since 1996.
“They’re changing everything,” said the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Durham, who was recruited as a tight end. “I think it’ll work. I’m buying into it.”
Mangurian had just been hired when Durham visited Columbia, which is located in New York City.
“I loved it,” Durham said. “They took us on a tour, and we walked for about 10 minutes and ended up in Times Square.”
His only other official visit was to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He ultimately picked Columbia over Duke, which wanted him to be a preferred walk-on.
“Nick’s a 4.2 GPA and 35 ACT student, one of the most gifted all-around student-athletes I’ve ever coached,” Cranford said. “He played at an incredible high motor. He’s going to be a hell of a player in the Ivy League.”
Durham is deciding between engineering and business management for his major.
“Columbia is prestigious academically,” he said, “and hopefully it’ll open doors for me when I graduate.”
Brownlee headed north to Central
Middletown’s Michelle Brownlee committed to the Central Michigan women’s soccer program more than a year ago, so she was eager to make it official Wednesday.
The senior defender was a four-year starter for the Middies and hopes to make an immediate impact with the Chippewas.
“Soccer’s been my passion since I was 3 years old,” Brownlee said. “It’s what I love to do.”
CMU has been a Mid-American Conference power of late, going 15-3-3 in 2011. It was Neil Stafford’s first season as head coach.
“The moment I stepped on the campus, I fell in love with it,” Brownlee said. “It’s absolutely beautiful, and the coaching staff and players are so nice and so welcoming. It just really makes you feel at home.”
Brownlee, a Cincinnati United Premier club player, had five goals and five assists for Middletown in ’11. Her career goal is to be a pharmacist or a physical therapist.
Wildcats will play soccer at next level
Franklin senior midfielders Sydney Lovelace and Brandi VanderYacht will continue their soccer careers at Indiana State and Urbana, respectively.
Lovelace was a four-year letter winner and tallied 67 goals and 27 assists in her prep career. VanderYacht was a three-year varsity player, totaling nine goals and nine assists.