The Cleveland athletics department held a ceremony at lunch on May 15 for seniors who will be competing for varsity sports teams next year at their respective universities. The ceremony, arranged by athletic director Mike Shanahan, was a chance to honor the contributions of Cleveland’s greatest athletes over the last four years.

Eleven seniors were honored. Playing volleyball: Taylor Ristvedt will attend Southern Oregon University; Perry Williams will attend Rider University in New Jersey; and Zoe Lequeux will attend Cornell University. From the football team, Anthony Zimmerman will play for the Lake Forest College Black Bears in Chicago. From the girls soccer team, Ava Mickola will attend Evergreen State, and Emily Marcum will attend Linfield College. From the girls cross country and track teams, Madeleine Willard-Herr will compete for Pacific Lutheran University, and Emma Wren will become a Kansas State Wildcat. From the swim team, Gabby Dewson will compete for the Willamette University Bearcats next year. Nick Hull and Malik Austin will also compete for their university basketball teams, but unfortunately missed the ceremony.

Three of the athletes–Lequeux, Williams, and Wren–are competing for NCAA Division 1 schools, and had already signed an official National Letter of Intent.

This marks the first time in recent memory that Cleveland has held a ceremony for college-bound athletes, and it did not go off without a hitch. In addition to the missing basketball players, a handful of college-bound athletes said they hadn’t heard about the ceremony until after it had already happened. Notable athletes not in attendance include Peter Kurtz who will run track and cross country for Haverford College. The ceremony was also very lightly attended, with only parents and reporters from The Clarion, Legend, Portland Tribune, and neighborhood newspaper The Bee in attendance.

After short remarks from each athlete, they were able to take pictures with family members and friends before the end of lunch.