Watching fireworks with her teammates at a Fourth of July tournament that featured 100 teams is one of many memories that senior Kaylee Smolko has made playing the sport of softball.
“My most memorable moment playing softball is with my travel team over the summer,” she said of the holiday tournament. “We played really great and ended up placing in the top eight out of some of the best teams in our age bracket.”
This tournament, though, offered much more than competition.
“This made me realize how much I actually loved the sport, and how many opportunities it has given me,” Smolko said.
Smolko, who started off playing T-ball as a kid, will be playing at University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown for the next four years.
Smolko will study biochemistry there and prepare for med school. She knew that UPJ would give her many opportunities.
“I chose this college because I knew I wanted to get a good education and continue my softball career,” Smolko said. “The coaches are amazing and they offered me a spot to fulfill my dreams.”
Softball has not only brought Smolko opportunities on the field, but it brought her opportunities off the field as well.
“Softball has allowed me to make so many friendships, meet a lot of new people, and get coached by some great coaches as well,” Smolko said. “I want to thank my family and my coaches for all the support that they have given me. I would not be where I am today without them.”
Senior Ramil Islamov fell in love with the sport of wrestling at 5 years old, and he has known for a long time that he wanted to continue his wrestling career after high school.
Next fall, Islamov will be attending West Virginia University to continue his wrestling career and to study entrepreneurship and innovation.
Islamov believes WVU was the best choice for him.
“I chose this college because of the coaching staff and the environment,” Islamov said. “I love being around the wrestlers, because everyone on the team feels like family.”
Islamov hopes to keep his success going this upcoming high school season and into the future.
“This year I want to be the first state champion in Baldwin history for wrestling, and in college, I want to start as a true freshman,” he said.
Wrestling has impacted Islamov’s life outside of the sport as well.
“The sport of wrestling has made me a dedicated person on and off the mat,” he said.
As a senior, Islamov gives advice to all of the underclassmen on the Baldwin wrestling team.
“I want them to work hard no matter what, and if someone says that you cannot do something, prove them wrong and go do it,” Islamov said.
He is grateful for having support around him.
“I want to thank my family, especially my mom and my dad for supporting me throughout my career, and also my coaches for getting me ready to go against the best of the best competition,” Islamov said.
Lacrosse wasn’t always senior Alexa Sherman’s top priority, but over the course of high school, she discovered it was her passion.
“My first interest in lacrosse sparked because my neighbor told me she was starting a team and wanted me to join. I never anticipated that I would like a sport more than softball, but I ended up quitting softball for it,” Sherman said.
Now, six years into her lacrosse career, Sherman has committed to play lacrosse at Chatham University for the next four years. Having dedicated much of her life to lacrosse, Sherman finds this moment incredibly rewarding.
“It feels great knowing that all of my hard work paid off in the end,” Sherman said.
Sherman plans on majoring in nursing after she graduates, which is one of the reasons Chatham stood out to her.
“I chose Chatham because their nursing program is very beneficial to me,” Sherman said.
As Sherman looks back on her lacrosse career, she remembers some of her most memorable moments.
“My favorite memory is playing in a tournament in Florida and meeting (professional lacrosse player) Charlotte North,” she said.
Sherman gives credit to her family and coaches in helping her through her journey.
“I would like to thank all of the coaches I have had since I started, because they are the reason I’ve gotten as far as I am now,” Sherman said. “I also want to thank my parents and friends for supporting me throughout my journey.”
Softball has been a major part of senior Gabriella Jaquay’s life for 11 years, and she’s now ready to take her talents to the collegiate level.
“My older sister played softball, and I’ve always looked up to her. She was the reason I started playing, and I fell in love with the sport,” Jaquay said.
Now, after years of training, Jaquay has signed with Seton Hill University, where she will continue her softball journey. For Jaquay, this opportunity is not just about playing at the next level; it’s also a reflection of her values and experiences.
“I chose Seton Hill because of the culture and values. I attended Catholic school from kindergarten through eighth grade, so being able to attend a private university feels like a full circle moment for me,” Jaquay explained. “Plus, their softball team competes at a high level, being NCAA Division II.”
Jaquay plans to study in Seton Hill’s physician assistant program, driven by her passion for healthcare.
“I’m really excited about their PA program, which will help me pursue my long-term goals,” Jaquay said.
Looking back on her softball career, Jaquay recalls one of her favorite memories.
“I will never forget hitting a homerun in the semifinal World Series game with my travel team,” Jaquay said.
As she prepares for this new chapter, Jaquay reflects on the people who supported her along the way.
“I would like to thank my parents for putting me into this sport at a young age and always showing up for me,” Jaquay said. “I’m also grateful for the Pittsburgh Riot organization and my high school coaches for pushing me to be the best I can be. And a special thanks to Coach Cassie Moore and the SHU softball staff for believing in me.”
Senior volleyball player Avery Barrett chose to commit to Pitt-Johnstown for more reasons beyond volleyball.
“I chose UPJ because of the coaches and it is also a great college to study engineering. I also do not want to be too far away from home, so it is the perfect distance,” Barrett said.
Barrett plans to study civil engineering at UPJ.
Previous Baldwin volleyball teams got Barrett first interested in the sport.
“I expressed interest in fourth grade when I went to a Baldwin volleyball summer camp and I noticed how close all the girls were and how much fun they had learning about the sport. I instantly knew I wanted to play after that,” Barrett said.
Barrett has made some memories she will never forget leading up to her collegiate career.
“My most memorable moment was qualifying to get a bid to the 2023 GJNC National Championship in Chicago with my club team, Pittsburgh Elite. We beat a team that we had previously lost to and that was a really special moment I shared with that team,” Barrett said.
She is particularly thankful for her mom’s assistance over the years.
“I am super thankful for my mom, who always helped me out when it came to recruiting and visiting different schools. She was very supportive throughout the entire process,” Barrett said.
Barrett also wants to thank her coaches at Pittsburgh Elite.
“My coaches at Pitt Elite gave me so many opportunities to play in front of college coaches, and I want to thank them for that,” Barrett said.
Senior Rebecca Knight fell in love with the campus and the coaches of Mansfield University before she committed to play basketball there.
“I chose this college because I loved how it is a smaller school and how nice the campus is. I also loved how welcoming the team and the coaches were to me and the general atmosphere of the community there,” Knight said of the north central Pennsylvania school.
Knight had doubts early in her high school career about what position she would play.
“I came in my freshman year as the tallest player on the team, but my coach told me I was too short to only be a big. This led me to work on perfecting my game in multiple aspects,” Knight said.
Knight, who plays forward for the Highlanders, plans to major in business management at Mansfield.
Knight started playing basketball when she was 6 years old but only started playing organized basketball in fourth grade.
“My coach, Tammy Johnson, really made me love the game and realized I wanted to play at higher levels,” Knight said.
Knight also gives thanks to her AAU coaches, who kept her playing the sport in high school.
“I want to thank my AAU coaches. They have coached me for the past three years and have been giving me plenty of opportunities along the way that were not possible in the high school season. If it was not for them, I probably would not be signing at all,” Knight said.
After seeing the movie The Invisible Sister in middle school, Aliza Very was inspired to start playing lacrosse.
“The main character’s sister played lacrosse and I thought it was so cool,” Very said. “I wanted to be in her position.”
Seven years later, Very continues to play lacrosse in the midfield position. For the first three years of high school, in addition to playing for Baldwin’s team, Very played for the club team Intrepid. This year she is playing for Baldwin and Pittsburgh Premier Lacrosse Club.
Very has committed to play lacrosse for the University of Mount Union next fall, where she will be studying biology. Upon visiting the campus, Very knew Mount Union was perfect for her.
“All the girls on the team are very inclusive. I was super impressed with the campus and how athletically motivated it was,” Very said.
Very uses some of her favorite memories on the field as motivation to keep playing her best.
“The most memorable moment was when I broke the girls lacrosse all-time scoring record my junior season,” Very said. “It was a big moment for me.”
The previous Baldwin career scoring record for girls lacrosse was 74. Very ended her junior year with 76, and she hopes to reach 100 goals for her career in the upcoming season.
“I just want to be a leader and someone that the girls can look up to and come to at any time,” Very said.
