Senior TuHS athletes commit to play in college

Anna Sherman, Staff Writer

As the 2020-21 school year wraps up, The Wolf interviewed a few senior athletes at Tualatin High School who will be furthering their athletic careers at the next level. On May 21st, all student athletes signed their National Letter of Intent, making their commitment official. 

Natalie Lathrop, who will be attending and playing for the University of Nevada Photo by Henry Kaus 

How long have you been playing basketball?

“I’ve been playing basketball since layups, when I was 6.” 

What was the recruiting process like?

“The recruiting process was really weird this year with COVID; no visitors were allowed. It involved a lot of emails and phone calls with coaches as they tried to see if I was the right fit for their team, and as I tried to see if I would want to play there.” 

What ultimately led to you choosing to go to Nevada?

N: “Out of all the coaches and teams I talked to, Nevada was the one that felt like the right fit for me, and I’m super excited I get to play there.” 

Do you have a favorite memory from your high school athletics career?

N: “My favorite memory from high school was beating Tigard last year, which was the first time in a long time that that had happened.” 

What are you most looking forward to for next year?

N: “I am most looking forward to being able to continue to play basketball, and to play with and against really good players.” 

Kassidy Javernick who will be attending and playing for Pacific Lutheran Photo by Henry Kaus

How long have you been playing basketball?

K: “I have been playing basketball ever since I can remember. I believe I started playing in second grade, so around 10 years.” 

What was the recruiting process like?

K: “The recruiting process was long and hard, but it was all about finding the right fit academically and athletically.” 

 

 

What ultimately led to you choosing to go to Pacific Lutheran?

K: “I chose to go there because everyone was so nice, it was a pretty campus and it had exactly what I wanted to do for my education. It was everything that I had been wanting.” 

Do you have a favorite memory from your high school athletics career?

K: “My favorite memory from high school has been playing with my four other classmates through the years and growing up together.” 

What are you most looking forward to for next year?

K: “Meeting new people and playing basketball outside of my hometown.” 

The Wolf also sat down with Shawn Hunt, who will be attending Los Medanos Community College and also playing baseball.

How long have you been playing baseball?

S: “I have been playing since I was 4, so 14 years now.” 

What was the recruiting process like?

S: “The recruiting process was definitely a lot more difficult than I expected, especially with COVID. I didn’t have a lot of film to send to coaches, so I had to make do with what I had and send that out.” 

What ultimately led to you choosing to go to Los Medanos CC?

S: “I have always wanted to live in California, and this was a big opportunity for me, so I took it.” 

Do you have a favorite memory from your high school athletics career?

S: “The game against Lakeridge where we fought hard until the end against a really solid team.” 

What are you most looking forward to for next year?

S: “I am looking forward to meeting a lot of new people and lifelong friends, and extending my baseball career.”

Last but not least, Tualatin will be saying goodbye to Olivia Seits, who will be attending the University of Northern Colorado and running on their cross country and track teams.

How long have you been running cross country?

O: “I started running [cross country] in eighth grade.”

What was the recruiting process like?

O: “Honestly, it was stressful. It’s incredibly important to communicate with coaches professionally and regularly to hold their attention. I did a substantial amount of research on different universities prior to reaching out to coaches, so I think that ultimately helped make my decision easier.”

What ultimately led to you choosing to go to Northern Colorado?

O: “While I never got the chance to meet the team or coaches, I had a gut feeling that the atmosphere was the right place for me. I’ll miss the constant rain in Oregon, though.”

Do you have a favorite memory from your high school athletics career?

O: “My sophomore year, the girls’ team ran a night meet in Washington around the time of Halloween. I’m really fond of that entire experience.” 

What are you most looking forward to for next year?

O:“The change. I’m fairly frightened to think this is all happening in the next few months, but I’m excited to see how much I’ll grow academically and athletically.” 

Tualatin athletes, you will be missed. Good luck next season!