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3 Stockdale athletes sign D-I offers
| Thursday, May 15 2008 10:59 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, May 15 2008 11:00 PM
The glare of the spotlight on a high school athlete signing a letter of intent to compete for a university can shine pretty bright.
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Stockdale High athletes from left, Curtis Huge who will play football at Southeast Missouri State, Emily Irvin who will swim at Boise State, and David Mitchell who will run track at CSUB celebrate their signing with Division I colleges with family and friends Thursday at Stockdale High.
Stockdale came up with a way Thursday to take the pressure off -- have three of its athletes sign at the exact same time.
Under the watchful eye of principal Ramon Hendrix and about a hundred coaches and classmates in the Stockdale library, three Mustangs pledged to play three different sports at three different Division I schools.
Emily Irvin signed to swim at Boise State, the day before she'll compete in the Central Section Championships at Clovis West; David Mitchell will attend Cal State Bakersfield to run track; and Mitchell's good friend, Curtis Huge, will kick and punt for Southeast Missouri State's football team.
"I liked it a lot," Huge said. "David Mitchell is one of my best friends. We've really grown up together ... It's really nice to sign with other people. You don't feel like it's 'Oh, all about me.'"
All three found something to like about their school.
For Huge, ranked nationally as the 52nd-best punter in his class by ChrisSailerKicking.com, it was a matter of waiting until offers came his way.
"I wanted a good football program," Huge said. "... I always thought I would find somewhere, but I was always questioning, because I didn't have big-name schools calling me every day. Then, right around National Signing Day (in February), I started getting some phone calls. ... I fell in love with the school and the program."
Mitchell wanted to stay close to home and run for the tradition-bound Roadrunners track and field team, for whom he'll focus on the 400 meters. The 1,600 relay, in fact, could be an all-local affair for the 'Runners next season.
"It'll probably be me, Anthony (Mitchell of North), Cameron (Jost of Liberty) and somebody else, maybe Eddie Morrow from East," Mitchell said. "So that's what we're hoping."
A bevy of schools wanted Irvin, who's favored to defend her section title in the 100-yard breaststroke, including Washington State, Oregon State, Loyola Marymount and New Mexico. But in Boise State, Irvin found a up-and-coming swimming program that happened to need a breaststroke specialist.
"That's exactly what they were looking for," Irvin said. "I'm probably not going to be the best swimmer on the team, but I'm probably going to be one of the top swimmers. So I'll get to swim.
"And the scenery is beautiful. It's an awesome city. I can't wait to go."