By Josh Smith, Contributing Writer
Four years of college to the naked eye may seem like an incredibly long journey. And it is, in some degree, but there is one thing that all college students, especially student-athletes, can agree on: it is not long enough. In two weeks, many student-athletes on the hilltop will walk across the stage for commencement and begin their new lives.
When people graduate high school and head off to college, the first thing on their mind is getting away from their home life and enjoy a bit of freedom. I think we can all agree on that, but then we have to make sure we get up for class and study to get good grades. That, in itself, is easier said than done.
There is, however, one thing that many tend to forget about. What about student-athletes?
Student-athletes have to do everything a normal student does. They must get up, go to class and study to get good grades. That is what college calls for. Student-athletes, however, have to do much more than what meets the eye. Before they get up for class, they have to go to the weight room. They have to go on morning runs. They have to go to practice. And, most importantly, they have to play games.
Yes, our student-athletes are just that, students, just like the rest of us, but they are here to be athletes, too. Being an athlete in college takes an incredible amount of hard work and dedication, and our senior Hilltoppers have done just that.
With dozens of MEC titles and conference tournament wins, the seniors in every sport on the hilltop have accomplished incredible feats, not only for themselves but for the university as well. We will soon lose many of those student-athletes.
It is time that we not only congratulate them on successful athletic careers at WLU, but also for fulfilling the duties of being a student-athlete, as many of them also achieved academic honors throughout the years.
For those seniors, we thank you for your time here at WLU, and we wish you the best in the future.
Senior Athletes:
Tim Hughes, Alex Rojas, Tory Fuscardo, Nick Naumann, Yale Hughes, Sean Pare, Connor Clark, Greg Stagani, Trey Smith, Michael Adams, Logan Maloney, Devin Hoehn, Zak Kirkbride, Zac Grossenbacher, Frank Kamarec, Solomon Dixon, Anton McCallum, Tyler Peterson, Dakota Conwell, Miles Young, Kevin Melder, Ellis Randall, Garrett Vulcano, Zach Barnes, Jevon Fripp, Avery Goff, Michael Kuheleloa, Mike Berardi, Darnell Vickers, Marquee Johnson, Demarlow Moses, Tim Moody, Matt Iceton, Tanner Stoffer, Pablo Cimorra, Santiago Gutierrez, Baptiste Perrin, Andrew Ponder, Matt Tully, Evan Smith, Josh Weltner, Zach Brown, DeMadre Turner, Lindsey Fenwick, Beth Dalton, Emily Bucon, Baylee Smith, Karissa Duke, Alexis Virtue, Kaitlyn Bliss, Allyson Johnson, Allie Roberts, Mackenzie Ullman, Damia Mogielski, Kylee Ensign, Nicki Mihalik, Raquel Cabero, Andrea Puga, Morgan Litton and Miranda Garmenn.
Image by Jalyn Bolyard
