Back in February, 18 Tualatin High School seniors signed their letters of intent to play sports at the collegiate level. Six committed for track and field. Madison Speer is committed to the Air Force Academy, specifically for her excellence in the hammer throw.
Elizabeth Graham committed to Cornell University. She competes in long jump, triple jump, the 100-meter dash and the 4×100 meter relay.
Kyra Bakke is committed to Montana State University. She competed in the long, triple and high jumps, while also doing the 4×100 and 4×400 meter relays.
Lauren Ayers committed to the University of Utah for long distance running. She set the school record in the 800 meter and 1500 meter, and won the 2023 6A Oregon School Activities Association girls’ 3000 meter. She will also run cross country.
Graham, Bakke and Ayers all were large point contributors to the team winning the 2023 OSAA girls’ state championship, where Tualatin took a first-place tie with Lake Oswego.
On the boys’ side, Carson Page is going to the Oregon Institute of Technology. He’ll pursue the 400 and 800 meter, along with cross country.
Ethan Grimm is committed to the University of Montana. He set the school record for javelin while doing some triple jump, as well.
Grimm is a competitor who prides himself on hard work.
“My favorite thing about my sport is seeing all of my hard work pay off in competitions. It’s good feeling like all of your efforts are going somewhere, and seeing that physically in track and field,” Grimm said.
Grimm is thankful for the people and coaches that got him to where he is now.
“My coaches from Tualatin High – Matt Unis, Eric Olson and Aaron Williams – help me manage myself in practice and make sure I’m not overworking myself, which I am really grateful for. As far as teammates, Cameron LaGrow was the one who got me into throwing javelin in the first place. I wanted to do an event that my friend was also doing, and I was most interested in javelin.”
For girls’ basketball, Jaylyn Arosemena signed with Western Washington University (WWU).
For boys’ basketball, Jaden Steppe signed with Colorado State University (CSU). He was the leading scorer and rebounder for Tualatin in the 2023 season and helped Tualatin win back-to-back State Championships in 2022 and 2023.
Ervin Dorsett III, Dequan Duncan, Nykori Lewis and Glenn Maduro are all committed to Mount Hood Community College (MHCC) for baseball. They all played their senior season at Tualatin, after moving from the US Virgin Islands.
Maduro remarked on how baseball has built a bridge between Tualatin and the Caribbean.
“I would thank all my coaches from back home, and since moving, they have all taught me valuable lessons to help advance my game and valuable life lessons and experiences,” Maduro said. “I struggled when I first moved. It was hard to adapt to a new place and be comfortable around people that I didn’t know, but just sharing the love for the game, you slowly get to know people, and you share those memories forever.”Mabry Martin also committed to MHCC for softball.
