It is the long-lived dream of every young athlete to play under the bright lights of a college field, filled with a sea of fans cheering on. For many Carlsbad seniors, that dream is about to become a reality. Athletes from all over the county amalgamated at the San Diego Hall of Champions, the largest multi-sport museum in the country, to officially sign their letters and commit to the college they will be attending in the fall.

“Signing a letter of intent was very humbling,” senior Jakob Karlsson said. “It makes me thankful for all of the people who supported me throughout  the years of playing volleyball.”

Planning to pursue volleyball in college, Karlsson has committed to Cal Sate University Northridge, a division one school, in order to continue his passion. Although choosing Northridge was a huge decision for him, it was not necessarily a difficult one.

“It is a really good school, and I wanted to play in a tough division,” Karlsson said. “I’m  really excited to see how everything is going to go, to get a fresh start and meet new people.”

Karlsson is not the only Carlsbad student who participated in this signing; senior Robyn Ukegawa, a softball player, also signed at the Hall of Champions.  She has committed to Bryant University in Rhode Island for softball and was thrilled to see the result of her effort and sacrifices.

“It was a very proud moment,” Ukegawa said. “I was really happy, and it was a big relief to be done. It will be cool to play softball on the East Coast.”

Also signing in to college for softball was senior Taylor Gardner, who will be attending Middlebury College in Vermont this next fall. For Gardner, participating in the Hall of Champions event was not just a once in a life time opportunity, but the fulfillment of a long time goal.

“It was a really cool experience,” Taylor Gardner said. “It was weird because you always have thought about playing in college when you were younger and now it’s  finally happening. It’s a dream come true.”