From a young age, senior Alayna Kercher loved to be in the water. Now she’ll be continuing her swimming career in college.
“I started swimming at the age of four,” Kercher said. “I always loved to be in the water, so my dad put me in swim lessons, which led to joining the local club swim team.”
Kercher felt that Chatham University was the best fit for her future, but not specifically just for swimming.
“I chose Chatham University because I fell in love with their campus and criminal justice program,” Kercher said. “And it just happened that they had a swim team that I could be on.”
Kercher’s senior swimming season was quite a success.
“I qualified for the 500 freestyle to compete in the 2024 WPIAL Championship meet my senior season,” Kercher said.
She gave thanks to one of her coaches and her teammates.
“I would like to thank Coach Kim (Klinger) for always pushing me through hard practices and always giving me advice to become a better swimmer,” she said. “To my teammates, thank you for always supporting me and cheering me on through the seasons.”
Senior Brooklyn Lucas only started track her sophomore year and now she has earned the opportunity to compete at the next level.
Lucas has committed to throw shot put for the Division II track team at West Liberty University. She visited many schools, but once she visited West Liberty, she knew it was a match for her career.
“It felt like it could become my new home as soon as I got there,” she said. “They have a fantastic program there and the nicest coaches.”
Lucas has made many memories since she started the sport.
“My favorite memory was the South Fayette Invitational,” she said. “I threw an incredible personal best and the crowd was insane.”
She gave props to everyone who helped her get to this position and was thankful for all of them.
“I would most definitely have to thank all my coaches and teammates,” she said. Lucas also thanked her brother, C.J Lucas, “because he’s the reason I started this new journey.”
“The coaches and my brother are the ones who understand the good and the bad days, and they are the ones who pick you up when you’re down,” she said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it with them.”
Senior Faustin Kabayiza’s roots have had a huge impact on his soccer career.
“Growing up in Rwanda, soccer was a big part of our lives, especially in the refugee camp,” Kabayiza said. “It’s what we enjoyed doing as kids.”
Kabayiza has been around the game his whole life.
“I started playing informally as a kid, like streetball with friends. But I got into organized play shortly after I came to the U.S. in 2019, my sophomore year of high school,” Kabayiza said.
Kabayiza committed to play for La Roche University for many reasons.
“I chose La Roche because it is a Catholic university and I am very religious,” Kabayiza said. “Also, the environment there seems like they are trying to build something special, and I wanted to be a part of that.”
Although Kabayiza has only been playing organized soccer for three years, he’s made some memories along the way.
“My favorite memory was when my club team traveled to Miami for a soccer tournament,” Kabayiza said.
Kabayiza said he would not be where he is today without his coaches.
“I would like to thank all my soccer coaches I’ve had in my career for helping me improve my skills so I can play at the collegiate level,” Kabayiza said.
Senior Grace Iaquinta is continuing her cheerleading career in college after achieving a lot of success for the Baldwin team.
“I started cheering when I was little then officially joined a team in seventh (grade),” she said.
Iaquinta is joining Duquesne’s cheerleading squad next year. The team consists of 20 to 30 students who cheer at all home football games, assigned men’s and women’s basketball games, as well as many other events.
Iaquinta’s brother, Victor, competes at the collegiate level after graduating from Baldwin last year, playing football at Mercyhurst University.
“It helped a lot. He was able to mentor me and show me the steps he took to get to where he is,” Iaquinta said.
As captain of the competitive cheer team, Iaquinta made a big impact, leading the team to nationals, where they made it to finals. The team also made it straight to the finals in states.
“My favorite memory is winning a WPIAL silver medal senior year,” Iaquinta said.
She is looking forward to her future and new opportunities in college.
“I am glad I get this opportunity to continue because cheer is a good outlet and I am so excited to make new friends,” Iaquinta said.
Despite only starting volleyball in ninth grade, senior Logan Pack has developed the skills needed to take the next step up to the college level.
Before freshman year, he had only played one other time. But Pack said that once picked up the sport, he knew it was for him.
“I thought it was really fun and I wanted to play more,” he said. “As soon as I started playing, I knew volleyball would be my sport.”
After receiving five total offers, he has narrowed it down to two schools: Chatham or Thiel, both of which have Division III programs.
Among his favorite volleyball experiences has been getting to travel for different competitions.
“My favorite volleyball memory was getting to play in Los Angeles for a tournament,” he said.
This was made possible after he accomplished his goal of playing for a club team.
“I made my top team for my club,” he said. “It allowed me to travel across the country to play.”
He knows that without his teammates and coaches, he wouldn’t be the player he is today.
“I want to thank all the teammates, who made it a blast to play, and my coaches, club and high school, for teaching me how to play,” he said.
Senior Nate Richards was born into a well known basketball family, and he established himself with Baldwin’s team by starting at point guard his sophomore year.
Richards is a member of the McConnell family, which includes his cousin, Pacers point guard T.J. McConnell, and his aunt Suzie McConnell, who played and coached in the WNBA and won an Olympic gold medal. His brother, Alex Richards, played college basketball for one year at Washington and Jefferson.
Richards is committed to play Division III basketball at Franciscan University. Even though he will only be a freshman next year, he hopes to get minutes for the team.
“I hope I can be a big part of the team,” he said. “I want to produce and help us win games.”
This year, Richards was one of two seniors, and he led the Highlanders to their first WPIAL Championship game since 1985.
“My whole family really helped me get to this point,” he said. “I would have never started playing if I didn’t watch them growing up or them putting a ball in my hand.”
“My teammates were always there for me even when I had my head down,” he said. “My coaches were a big part of the reason I was given this opportunity, so I could not thank them enough.”
Shea Stephens was unsure about cheering at the collegiate level until she found out that PennWest California University had a cheer team.
“I committed to Cal U before knowing they had a cheerleading team,” Stephens said. “Once I found out they did, I decided to try out at the collegiate level for the sport I’ve been doing my whole life.”
Cal U wasn’t Stephens’ first choice, but she feels she’s making the right decision by staying closer to home.
“I originally wanted to go out of state, but that would have meant it would be harder for my parents to see me cheer,” Stephens said.
Stephens found a love for cheer at a young age.
“I started when I was 3 years old because I loved to tumble and do tricks,” Stephens said.
Stephens’ best cheer memories have been her most recent.
“My favorite memory is making the Cal U cheer team,” Stephens said. “I practiced for most of my life to be able to reach the skills I needed for this accomplishment.”
Stephens said her mom along with all of her high school cheerleading coaches have had the biggest impact on getting her to the collegiate level.
“I definitely thank my high school cheer coaches for giving me confidence and motivation to work hard,” Stephens said. “I also thank my mom for her constant support through my journey.”
