Twenty-seven WHS class of 2023 students came together Tuesday afternoon in Cafeteria B for the second National Signing Day ceremony of the year. Following the one in May, an astonishing 44 total seniors will be playing collegiate sports next year. The ceremony recognized the larger group of student-athletes who have signed their letters of intent to participate in collegiate athletics.
“I’m so super proud,” athletic director Sandy Mamary said. “The colleges that they’re going to are just exceptional universities.”
(For a full list of committed WHS athletes, take a look at the commitment list)
After an exciting decision day on Friday, many seniors have chosen to not play a sport in college. However, 44 of 228 senior athletes, or about 19 percent, have committed to play a sport in college, Mamary said.
With an incredible seven athletes, football was the sport most represented on the stage Tuesday afternoon. All going Division III, these athletes will continue where they left off in the fall. Owen Shakal will be attending Springfield College, and Robert Sisk will be going to Albright College. Jack O’Connor is headed to Ithaca College, while Brandon Love and Sergio Cabrera Jr. will both be attending Susquehanna University.
“He worked very hard to get to where he is now,” said Sergio Cabrera, the father of Sergio Cabrera Jr. “Since he was young, he has always loved the sport of football. I started coaching him in third grade, and it’s an honor to see him going to college to play football.”
With such highly talented athletes, there are two people who will be competing in two collegiate sports. Daniel Hanlon will continue his football and lacrosse careers at Muhlenberg College, while Gabriel Dayon will continue his football and javelin careers at Montclair State University.
Boys track and field had the second largest number of collegiate athletes. With Dayon, the program will be sending six total athletes to continue their careers collegiately. Joseph Pierro is going to Xavier University, Jonathan Scalia to Rutgers University, and Joseph McGovern to the University of Scranton. Also, Mason Marino will attend Sacred Heart University, and Justin Lipschutz will be headed to the University of Rochester.
For the girls side of track, Sonia Olson will attend Tufts University and Catherine Collins will continue running at Smith College.
Another talented group of boys come from WHS’ wrestling team. Brandon Ribeiro will be heading to Ithaca College, Ethan Composto to Gettysburg College, and Richard DeRick to Kutztown University. Aidan Harper will be headed to Stevens Institute of Technology.
For boys lacrosse, in addition to Hanlon’s decision to attend Muhlenberg, goalie Quinn Wojick will be attending Loyola University Maryland
For the baseball team, Owen Callahan will be headed to Ithaca College and Leo Mangiamele will continue his career at the U.S. Naval Academy.
On the boys side of swimming, Colin Kavanagh will be attending Williams College. Abigail Bebel will represent the girls swim program at Lafayette College.
Basketball player TJ Halloran will be attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this coming fall.
“Our grade has always been very athletic. It’s always been great that throughout peewee sports and high school sports, we have always succeeded and always won something at some level,” said Halloran.
Olivia Rosario will be attending Agnes Scott College for soccer. Tristan Wroe will go to Stevens Institute of Technology for tennis. Finally, Jessica Currie will be going to Dickinson College to continue her volleyball career.
“The beauty of Westfield Public Schools is it’s a combination of academics and athletics, not just one,” Mamary said. “That’s why we have so many kids that are continuing to play because they can handle the academic side while they continue to be excelling athletes.”
