Saturday, Feb. 06, 2010

Olathe North trio celebrates Division I signings

Olathe North High School’s official all-school signing ceremony won’t take place for another few weeks, but three NCAA Division I recruits couldn’t wait to share the good news.

So, on Wednesday’s national signing day, Lucas Vincent, Tre Walker and Jenn Wolfe were honored at a family-organized ceremony inside the Heritage Center at Mahaffie.

“It’s like 10,000 pounds were lifted off my shoulders,” Walker said after formally announcing his commitment to play football at Kansas State. “There’s a lot going on, but signing and knowing I won’t have to deal with to coaches and recruits for a while, it’s just a relief and it feels so good.”

Vincent, who signed for football at Missouri, and Wolfe, who signed for soccer at Nevada-Las Vegas, expressed a similar feeling of closure.

The recruiting process can be arduous.

“I’m just getting tired of people calling me,” Vincent said. “I’ve had my recruiter (Mizzou’s Andy Hill) the last couple days calling me freaking out. I was like, ’It’s cool coach. I’m going to sign. Chill.’ I’m glad all that’s done.”

A verbal commitment is far from a signal to other schools to back off anymore. If anything, it’s like waving a red flag in a bull’s face and invites even more mayhem/

“At first, after I committed, a lot of schools came to talk to me, and honestly I kind of wavered a little bit, but the support base that Kansas State kept is what kept me close to them and made stay,” Walker said.

Ultimately, all three Eagles seniors felt a level of comfort with one program above all others, which prompted the festivities Wednesday. Vincent, Walker and Wolfe honored verbal commitments each made nearly a year ago or more.

“I looked at a lot of other places, but UNLV fit me the best,” Wolfe said. “The team is so much like a family. It’s a lot like my club team right now, and I need that because I like to play with people who are like my sisters.”

Dr. Connie Heinen, the principal at North, gushed about the leadership all three have displayed on the field and in the halls. She also related anecdotes of how she came to meet Vincent, Walker and Wolfe.

“It’s really been an honor to work with these three and I really know them,” Heinen said. “This is my fourth year at North, and that’s what I love getting to watch these kids grow from sophomore to senior year and watch them become men and women.”

In some cases, as it is with Vincent and Walker, signing day raise the specter of going from teammates on the Eagles’ undefeated Kansas 6A state championship squad to Big 12 North rivals, but both insist it will remain friendly.

“We’ve played every game together since eighth grade, so it’s going weird,” said Vincent, a defensive tackle.

But it will also be fun.

“It will be odd, because I’ve been playing with him for a long time, so that’s just going to be something I have to deal with,” said Walker, who will get looks at wide receiver and linebacker.. If I run his way, we’re just going to have to both run out of bounds together.”

Wolfe, meanwhile, hopes to continue to a soccer career and life really marked by excellence. Her Blue Valley Stars Mallorca club team is ranked No. 7 in the nation and she maintains a 4.6 grade-point average.

“Everything she does, she does at a very high level and she has success at a very high level,” Glassman said. “That’s something that has always impressed me about Jenn her ability to do numerous things and be great at numerous things.”

Wolfe expects to play forward or midfielder for the Rebels and hopes to become a dentist.

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