Collegiate athletics is a massive undertaking that’s been years in the making for many student athletes. Signing day represents the culmination of that work. On November 8th, Mundelein High School had three student athletes sign for college athletics (Josilyn Wadas for Indiana State University, Ella Terrell for the University of Louisville and Abby Rounds for Winona State University), each had their own reasons for pursuing college athletics and choosing the universities they did.
Josilyn Wadas, senior, spoke about the impact watching women’s sports had on her decision, “I knew I wanted to play in college when I realized how much I loved the sport and saw teams playing on TV because I just knew that I wanted to be like that.”
Ella Terrell, senior, realized she wanted to get serious about continuing her athletic career past high school after an injury.
Terrell said, “I think the point where I was certain I wanted to play lacrosse at the collegiate level was when I got injured the summer going into my freshman year of high school. Having the sport taken away from me, made me realize how passionate I was about the sport and didn’t want to have one day living without it.”
Several factors go into student athletes’ decisions on where they decide to commit. Location, division level, coaching staff, etc.
Wadas said of choosing Indiana State University, “I chose to commit to Indiana State once I visited the school and was able to see the positive and loving environment that the team had. As I was walking around, I could easily imagine myself there which allowed me to be comfortable and confident in my decision.”
For Terrell the decision came down to Stony Brook University in New York and the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
Of the dilemma she said, “On September 1st [the first day coaches can start reaching out to athletes], I got emails from around 20 division 1 schools. My two big ones were from Stony Brook University (ranked top 10 at the time) and University of Louisville (my top choice). I went on visits to both schools and were offered by both.”
In the end Terrell landed on the University of Louisville, “Louisville aligned with everything I was looking for in a college. Louisville is the perfect distance from my house now where I am not too far but not too close. It’s an ACC school with a good football and basketball program which I love in college because I feel it makes the experience a lot more fun. The facilities were breathtaking and I had never seen anything like it before. But what I especially loved about Louisville was the team dynamic and the school dedication to women’s athletics.”
