On Nov. 12, nearly 200 student athletes signed their National Letter of Intent to play sports at the collegiate level at the San Diego Hall of Champions. The NCAA requires athletes verbally committed to athletic scholarships to sign these letters in order to officially bind themselves to their colleges.  This ceremony was held from 7:30 to 10:00 a.m. in order to celebrate the achievements of these athletes receiving the opportunity to further their athletic careers after all of their hard work and dedication. The KUSI prep pigskin report covered the event on social media as well as on their nighttime newscast to cover all of the students signing throughout the day.

“It’s definitely a lot of work to get to play in college,” senior Hannah Bandimere said. “So it was really exciting to finally make it official. I’m really lucky to get the opportunity to play in college so I’m hoping to make the most of the experience.”

With 178 athletes in attendance, there was an estimated 23 million dollars in scholarships represented in the ceremony. Although Ivy League schools and Service Academies are not given traditional scholarships, they were still invited to sign at the event and take pictures with the other athletes.

“It was a great experience to see all of the diverse colleges San Diego athletes were signing to,” senior Katie Beyer said. “The Hall of Champions ceremony was a great way for us to feel recognized and meet other college-bound athletes.”

Ranging from San Diego to Long Island, nine athletes represented Carlsbad for various sports. The early signing period welcomed athletes from lacrosse, basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball, golf, gymnastics, cross country, track, field hockey and wrestling. More athletes will sign their letter of intent for football, soccer and boys water polo in February in the same type of ceremony.

“It was amazing to finally sign to my school after a year of only being verbally committed,” Beyer said. “I’m so ready to start the next phase of my life and experience new, exciting things and to see the other athletes from Carlsbad succeed in their schools.”

Signees:

Hannah Bandimere: Utah Valley University (softball)

Katie Beyer: Iona College (women’s lacrosse)

Amanda Domingo: LIU Brooklyn (softball)

Kamden Maas: Cal State Northridge (women’s volleyball)

Julie McDonald: San Diego State (softball)

Grace McGinty: San Diego State (women’s lacrosse)

Kyle Moore: Wyoming University (swimming)

Rachel Noble: Stetson University (women’s sand volleyball)

Shannon Oh: University of Nevada, Las Vegas (women’s golf)

Delaney Phanco: University of Nevada, Reno (women’s tennis)