Clovis Unified athletes commit to play at collegiate level

A total of 19 Clovis Unified student-athletes signed Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers at the next level during National Signing Day ceremonies held at each campus on Feb. 7.

Buchanan, Clovis High and Clovis North got their ceremonies started at noon followed by Clovis East at 2 p.m. and Clovis West at 3 p.m.

For “Bear Nation,” five seniors will go on to compete at the next level, including girls soccer standouts Kyndel Borman and Alexa Marchini; wrestlers Trevor Ervin and Ethan Leake; and Maesyn Rix of girls basketball.

“This is a huge transition for our kids as they embark on another journey in their lives, and this is a way for us to celebrate their accomplishments,” said Buchanan Athletic Director, James Gambrell. “Not only do they have to do well on the soccer field, wrestling mat or basketball court but they also have to do it academically, so it’s really a dual achievement.”

Clovis High and Athletic Director Jesse Hardwick celebrated the accomplishments of Megan Dean and Chase Direito. Dean will go on to run track at CSU Stanislaus while Direito will take his volleyball talents to Menlo College, where he will join former teammates Trey Lake and Akash Dhothar.

The Broncos of Clovis North had four sign on to compete at the next level, including Hannah Hall to San Jose State for soccer, Trent Lindsey to Claremont McKenna for football, Mckay Severance to Cal Lutheran for soccer and Shomari Somerville to Indiana Tech for track and field.

For the Clovis East signing ceremony, all eyes were on soccer star Catalina Villegas as she signed her Letter of Intent to University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“This is a sigh of relief after being a player for 14-plus years, it’s kind of like a load off my back,” said Villegas, who was a key contributor on the 2015-16 Valley championship team. “I’m just really excited. This is my goal that I worked for and I finally achieved it.”

As a junior looking to play at the collegiate level, Villegas was drawn to UNLV’s success as the women’s soccer program was coming off a Mountain West championship.

“At that time, I figured they were such a good Division I program and I want to play for them,” she said. “I love the coaching, I was familiar with how they played, so that really drew me.”

Clovis West’s ceremony featured seven Golden Eagles ready to expand their wings and fly to their new destinations. With two sports as the main themes, four girls soccer standouts signed on to continue their careers in Orian Bar (West Virginia Wesleyan), Brittney Hahn (Missouri S&T), Lauren Hudec (San Francisco State), Ana Maldonado (Nebraska) while three football players committed to their respective universities. Brothers Dakota and Jayden Helms will attend Fort Lewis College to play football while Dusty Schramm heads to Utah State. Dusty’s twin brother, D.J., will also be playing Division I football as he is committed to Boise State.

Of the five high schools, Clovis West had the most signings with seven, Buchanan had five, Clovis North signed four, Clovis High had a pair of athletes sign and Clovis East had one in Villegas.

Here are all 19 signings: