Water polo players Nicholas Klemm, Joshua Emde, Coach Charlie Cutelli, Grant Keesling, and Chandler Klemm pose after the signing day in the library on April 16.

Behind academics, athletics are one of the most influential reasons to pick a college. This year, 17 seniors committed to play sports for their college careers.

The athletes are David Baranski, Clifford Chi, Tommy Christensen, Joshua Emde, Savannah Fillion, Francesca Giganti, Emily Goldenstein, Grant Keesling, Chandler Klemm, Nicholas Klemm, Alysa Manwill, Alex Phillips, Gavyn Prsha, Becky Salamon, Billy Stimac, Sam Vickroy and Kelsey Zurweller.

Fillion, who plays volleyball, decided to sign to Illinois Central College after clicking with her future teammates.

“I was burned out from playing volleyball because I have played for so many years, but I went to the school and clicked with the other girls in the program. It reminded me why I loved it so much,” Fillion said.

Vickroy, a baseball player, looked at location when he made his decision to play for the University of Indianapolis.

“It’s close to the city of Indianapolis, and it’s not too big,” Vickroy said.

Keesling chose to play water polo at Fordham University based on a combination of athletics and activities, and looks forward to his opportunity for growth.

“The college is really nice, and they have a great NROTC Program. We’ll play a lot of good teams, and I probably won’t get a ton of playing time, but I know it’ll be a good experience,” Keesling said.

Alysa Manwill will be playing soccer for the University of Illinois at Springfield.

“It has always been a dream of mine to play soccer in college, and U of I is a really good fit for me. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to start, but I’m really looking forward to getting closer to the team,” Manwill said.

The rest of the seniors will be attending the following schools next fall:

Baranski – Central Methodist University, football

Chi – DePauw University, baseball

Christensen – Fordham, swimming

Emde – Washington & Jefferson, water polo

Giganti – University of Nebraska at Lincoln, diving

Goldenstein – University of Memphis, golf

C. Klemm – Mercer University, soccer

N. Klemm – Mercer University, soccer

Phillips – Fontbonne University, soccer

Prsha – East Central Community College, soccer

Salamon – Fort Lewis College, lacrosse

Stimac – Maryville University, soccer

Zurweller – Missouri Baptist, lacrosse