The Nation Ford Falcons had five athletes sign Wednesday to play their respective sports in college next year.
Two of the signees were volleyball players, while one of them was a wrestler, one a gymnast and one a rower.
“This is about them and their success,” said Nation Ford athletic director Jaybe Shackleford.
The two volleyball players were Taylor Atkinson and Adeline Mezzanotte. Atkinson will be heading to Duke University to play and Mezzanotte will be heading to Belmont Abbey College. Both were instrumental parts of the success for Nation Ford volleyball over the last four years, which included two state titles.
Atkinson ended her career with more than 1,100 kills. Mezzanotte ended her career with more than 350 kills.
“It is awesome,” said Nation Ford head volleyball coach Craig Brown. “Two of them are leaders. It will be tough to replace them. I am proud of them.”
Caden Brandenburg will also be attending Belmont Abbey to wrestle. He will be wrestling at 160 pounds his senior season which is upcoming, but will be wrestling at 172 pounds in college. Brandenburg said that he liked what he saw at the North Carolina school.
“I really liked the campus,” he said. “I met the team and they made me feel like I was part of their family.”
The two other signees were from non-traditional high school sports as Gwendolyn Fink will be going to the University of North Carolina as a gymnast and Grace Fragakis will be going to the University of Wisconsin in Madison to row.
Fink committed to North Carolina very early in the recruiting process and will be an all-around gymnast for the school competing in every event – beam, bar, floor and vault.
“I love the campus and the coaching staff,” she said. “I knew it was the place I wanted to spend the next four years.”
Fragakis has been rowing for two years, but has garnered enough attention to earn a college scholarship.
“It was the school that stood out for me on a visit,” she said. “All the girls there were nice. I fell in love with Madison.”
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
