photo credit: Kelsey Beatty
As incoming seniors Audrey Del Vecchio and Cate Woolard prepare to take on their new roles as co-editor in chief and section editor, they are passing their sports column to myself, current junior Kelsey Beatty.
I, for my part, will focus on giving you the “scoop” on all the happenings in sports, from school sports, to collegiate teams, to national sports, to overall sports trends.
I was practically raised on sports; my whole life, from September to January, football was on, either NFL (we’re 49ers fans) or college (OSU) and March Madness in the spring. My brother, and by extension my dad, has taken an interest in most sports, and I can think of (some more seriously than others), including lacrosse, football, soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, pickleball, mountain biking, track and each winter, skiing.
Being a good sister, I’ve done all the backyard baseball and driveway basketball, learned to play pickleball, went mountain biking once or more a week for two years and started my skiing journey these past two years. After learning at Snow Trails, I went along to Holiday Valley this season, with more updates to come this winter.
I also attended every game but one of this past football season, including the playoffs, to support the team from the marching band. I even got the opportunity to see our team win the state championship for the first time in program history, participate in their awards ceremony and interview players and coaches vital to that victory.
Beyond football, I have had the opportunity to go in-depth on the school’s golf program, dig into our hockey program, attend the varsity basketball team’s games and explore March Madness. Since joining the Courier, I have written almost entirely sports stories, putting me in touch with the sports scene at the high school.
Speaking of which, these stories have also given me the opportunity to speak with many of this year’s senior sports commits, who I believe deserve all the recognition in the world, especially as signing day and graduation are upon us.
This has included star wide receiver MC Walker, going to Ohio University, offensive lineman Remley Bowen, bound for Davidson College, standout golfer Adeline Ricker, committed to Xavier. And this is only a few of the spring signees.
Among these, Ricker received nearly a full scholarship of $60,000 a year to attend Xavier, showing her high value as a recruit. And Walker’s commitment will give the high school’s former quarterback Levi Davis, who began at OU in the fall, the chance to reunite with one of his favorite high school passcatchers at the next level.
More broadly, this has been an unrivaled year of senior sport commitments, with many signees being granted significant scholarships to iconic universities.
For instance, senior Justice Cullivan received a full ride for fencing at Notre Dame next fall, cheerleader Macy Medley will likely receive a generous scholarship when she officially commits to the University of Massachusetts and running back Lucas Fickel will attend the United States Military Academy (Army) free of charge.
Seniors from the high school will also be going so far as to usher in a new era for collegiate sports, as the NCAA adds four new championships in women’s athletics.
Women’s wrestling will be one of these sports introduced across the country in the 2026-27 season, meaning that seniors Lacie Knick and Chloe Tompkins will have the opportunity to debut the women’s wrestling program at Kent State, where they have committed, and senior Lexie Riley will be a member of Washington and Jefferson University’s first women’s wrestling team.
Overall, this year will undeniably be record-breaking for the Pioneer Class of 2026 in athletics. But as they solidify their commitment to their future universities with the stroke of a pen, and thus set the stage for their next frontier, so too do I as I step into my role as the Courier’s 2026-2027 sports editor.
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