Signing Off

Five of athletes participate in spring signing ceremony

Jessica+Kelm%2C+Olivia+Burgener%2C+Alden+Gruidel%2C+Daisy+Fuchs%2C+Ben+Hogan%2C+and+Riley+Sorbo+participate+in+the+spring+signing+ceremony+on+April+13th.

Jessica Kelm, Olivia Burgener, Alden Gruidel, Daisy Fuchs, Ben Hogan, and Riley Sorbo participate in the spring signing ceremony on April 13th.

Many of Monarch’s athletes are dedicated to their sports and put in hours of effort and practice with their coaches and teams every week. For five senior athletes all of this pain, sweat, and hard work was worth it when they took part in a signing ceremony to celebrate their commitment to their sport, and to their future schools. The ceremony took place in Monarch’s Library at 2:30pm on April 13. Each athlete signed their letter of intent and received glowing praise from their coaches, while parents, teammates, and friends took pictures and watched with pride. Ben Hogan (Gonzaga University), Daisy Fuchs (Colorado School of Mines), Jennica Kelm (Pacific Lutheran University), Alden Gruidel (Metropolitan State University of Denver), Riley Sorbo (Missouri Valley College), and Olivia Burgener (Wheaton College)  will all go on next year to represent their schools in basketball (Burgener), swimming (Kelm), and cross country and track (Hogan, Fuchs, Gruidel, and Sorbo).

For senior Alden Gruidel, the highlight of the event wasn’t the fancy pen or getting out of class, but the support she received from her friends and family. “The best part was probably just seeing my teammates here and my coach here. It made the whole thing more real,” Gruidel said.

The celebration was well-earned for these athletes and getting to this point in their athletic careers was no easy feat. “I just had to put in a ton of hours in the pool, with the 4:30 am practices and it just took a lot of dedication. But it’s all worth it now.” senior Jennica Kelm said.

The Monarch community will be cheering them on as these students finish out their last days of high school and begin competing for their new schools at the collegiate level.