Dreams Become Reality for Catholic Athletes

Only a special group of athletes get the opportunity to play at the college level, but at Charlotte Catholic many athletes get this opportunity every year. They make their commitment official on specific signing days throughout the year when they sign their National Letter of Intent (NLI) to their college. 

On November 12th, 19 Charlotte Catholic athletes signed their NLI. The event, which took place at the Fine Arts Center during break, was filled with friends, family and coaches who all came to celebrate the accomplishments of the athletes. Each athlete set up a table with gear from his or her college and desserts for other students to have so that everyone could be a part of the celebration. 

It is important to look beyond the event to see the true stories behind every athlete. The whole school was able to see their success that day, but the athletes had to put in much effort to get into their positions. The athletes spent countless hours working hard to perfect their craft and choose which program would be the best fit for them. Signing day was a great opportunity for all of their hard work to be put on display.

CCHS students who signed to further their athletic careers (Credit: Charlotte Cathollic High School)

There were numerous teams that had multiple athletes sign. The swim and dive team had 5 athletes that signed. CJ Bernardo signed to Miami University (OH), Olivia Jacobson signed to the University of Pennsylvania, Kathryn Kern signed to Villanova, Mason Kramer signed to the University of Delaware, and Caroline Meehan signed to Kenyon College. The Field Hockey team had 3 athletes. Avery Painter signed to Denison University, Meg Tebben signed to the University of Iowa, and Caroline Winters signed to Sacred Heart. For the Women's Lacrosse team, Kate Linder signed to Randolph Macon, and Audrey Huddle signed to UMASS Lowell. Other athletes included May May Spinner signing to the College of Charleston for soccer and Madden Glosner signing to Belmont Abbey for softball. 

The team that stood out the most at signing day was the baseball team which had 7 players that signed to Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3 colleges. Ben Bordeaux signed to Queens University, Cooper Gornet signed to NC State University, Paul Greely signed to Sewanne, Alex Hoffman signed to Virginia Tech, Brady Marconi signed to the College of Charleston, Tate Olney signed to West Virginia State, and Quinn O’Rourke signed to the University of Arizona. 

Eddie Hull is the head baseball coach at Charlotte Catholic. He said “Seeing seven of our baseball players sign this November was really special for me as a coach.” He expressed that “all seven of our fall signees are tireless workers, hard-nosed ballplayers, and leaders in some form or fashion” and that is why they are able to continue playing at the next level.

Signing Day allowed the entire Charlotte Catholic community to celebrate all of these athletes as they take on a new journey in their lives.