Six athletes sign to compete at schools nationwide

Six senior athletes signed their National Letters of Intent in the West High Cafeteria April 12.

Ceci De Young

Seniors Jannell Avila, Mitch Frey, Anna Prouty, Meena Tate, Carolyn Pierce and Jay Mascardo (not pictured) signed their National Letters of Intent April 12.

Ella De Young, Print Managing Editor
April 13, 2023

For the last signing day of the 2022-23 school year, six star athletes, representing four different sports, gathered in the West High Cafeteria to sign their National Letters of Intent after school April 12. The space was packed as coaches, parents, siblings, friends and teammates came to show their support, pride and excitement for the student athletes. West High’s 2023 spring signing day celebrated seniors Meena Tate, Anna Prouty, Carolyn Pierce, Mitch Frey, Jannell Avila and Jay Mascardo.

Meena Tate

Tate will travel the furthest distance as she will be attending Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire this fall. Tate will compete at the Division I level as a part of the Dartmouth Big Green women’s basketball team. She describes what stuck out to her about Dartmouth, which in turn concluded in her commitment to the school.

“The team, the coaches, the atmosphere — I just love the family vibe of it. And the academics are a really big thing,” Tate said.

Anna Prouty

Prouty will also be attending a school in the Northeast: Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Prouty will represent the Tartans as a women’s basketball player and plans on majoring in biology and psychology. Prouty expresses what made Carnegie Mellon the right fit for her.

“I chose Carnegie Mellon because it has a rigorous academic program, and I really liked the coach and the environment there,” Prouty said.

Carolyn Pierce

Pierce will stay in Iowa to further her academic and athletic career at Grinnell College. While Pierce studies psychology, she will also play on the women’s basketball team. Pierce explains what was special about Grinnell that ultimately made her choose to commit there.

“I committed to Grinnell because of the great basketball coach there — she was super nice when I visited. Then I also met the team who were super nice and welcoming,” Pierce said. “It’s also an hour away, so it was convenient, and the rigorous academics also helped.”

Mitch Frey

Frey will travel north this fall to Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota. He will be a part of the Warriors baseball team and plans to major in business management. Frey speaks about what he is looking forward to at Winona State.

“I got to go up on a visit and meet some of the guys on the baseball team, and it seemed like they had a really great bond together,” Frey said. “I’m really just excited to join that group.”

Jannell Avila

Avila will stay in the Midwest but will travel five and a half hours to Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas. The 2020 IWCOA girls wrestling state champion at 138 pounds will be on the women’s wrestling team at Baker, majoring in biology with a minor in ecology. Avila shares the significant impact that the Baker culture had on her that led her to commit there.

“I chose Baker because the coaches are so great there. The environment there is amazing — they want to win, so that’s what I’m looking forward to doing. They seem like they really care about each other, and the team environment is unbelievable,” Avila said.

 

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Jay Mascardo

Mascardo will head off this fall to her new home at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Mascardo will be on the women’s tennis team and plans to go into nursing. Mascardo reveals how the way in which the coach communicated with her made all the difference in deciding to go to Luther.

“The coach reached out to me my sophomore year, and his focus wasn’t mainly on recruiting me necessarily but more so helping me with my college search. That was really something that made me think of working with him — it wasn’t purely for tennis because he was actually getting to know me as a person too,” Mascardo said. “That was what really got me to feel safe at Luther and feel like, ‘Yeah, this is where I want to go.'”

 

Ceci De Young
Before he officially signed to play baseball at Winona State University, Mitch Frey '23 stands with his West High baseball teammates for a celebratory photo April 12 after school.