Edina High School’s Signing Day

Natalie+Haben+signing+to+play+volleyball+at+Purdue+University

photo by Nate Saunders

Natalie Haben signing to play volleyball at Purdue University

Ben Gustafson, staff writer

Today, Thursday, November 19th, ten Edina students finalized their legacy at Edina High School today as they signed their letters of intent ready to take the next step in their athletic careers. They were among the three percent of high school athletes in the country that move on to compete at the college level. Every student was called up to the center table one after the other with their parents, and their coaches all had prepared short speeches testifying to their players’ extraordinary abilities, ethics, and personalities. To give you a picture of the accomplishments of the ten athletes that were up on the stage, the average GPA of all of them came out to be a 3.82. Zephyrus will quickly recap each athlete’s ceremonial signing.

First, Hannah Hankinson signed her letter of intent with Augustana to play golf as Mark Harelstad, the golf coach, touched on her countless athletic achievements including being a part of seven state championships, three time all-state golfer, and runner up for the individual golf state championship.

Then, Harelstad praised Christine Portillo, another one of his golfers, for committing to the University of Minnesota. “Christine is one of the most driven golfers I have ever coached in my entire life,” said Harelstad.

Next up, Raegan Hinrichs signed with University of Wisconsin-Madison to row. Since rowing isn’t an official EHS sport, long-time Nordic coach Andy Turnbull spoke of her extreme dedication to both rowing and cross country skiing behind the scenes as well as her consistently positive attitude.

The following signing was Will Moreton committing to Stonehill College to play basketball. His coach, Joe Burger, emphasized Moreton’s character by how he took both workouts and school seriously even coming in before school every morning over the winter to work on his jumpshot.

Molly Hiniker then signed her letter of intent with Colorado College to play soccer. Katie Aafedt, the Girls’ Soccer coach, discussed Hiniker by reading various text messages from Hiniker’s teammates regarding what she meant to the team. They generated some amazing responses including, “Molly held out team together” and “Molly had contagious competitiveness and intensity.”

Afterwards, Tyler Eckberg signed with Kansas State to play baseball as Carter Freeman, the Head Boys’ Baseball Coach,  spoke of Eckberg’s outstanding performance in a his first varsity game as a sophomore after being pulled up from junior varsity as well as his “quiet confidence” that makes him a perfect leader.

Next, Kathryn Graf was complemented by Sue Weber, the first-year Girls’ Volleyball Coach, for her commitment to Bradley University to play volleyball. Graf was the “workhorse” of the team being the leader of countless stat categories as well as being the hornet award winner and captain award winner.

Casey Dornbach was congratulated by Curt Giles, the Boys’ Hockey Varsity Coach, for his commitment to University of Nebraska Omaha to play hockey. Giles described Dornbach as the “poster child of a student athlete” because he cares about his teammates, his school, his city, and people in general.

The following signing was from Natalie Haben who committed to play volleyball at Purdue. Stephanie Chapek, the former Girls’ Volleyball Coach, said Haben had been one of the most talented, skilled volleyball players to come out of Edina being a six year starter on varsity.

Sam Thomas then signed with Davidson College for cross country running as Jamie Kirkpatrick, his coach, spoke of his development from being an average runner to becoming a great runner. Like his colleagues, Thomas was a phenomenal student as well.

Lastly, John Marple signed with Colgate University to play lacrosse. His coach, Travis Wells, spoke of how Marple’s work ethic set the bar high for the rest of the lacrosse players in the program allowing for the program get set in the right direction.

Over the course of the ceremony, there was an overwhelming gratitude for the parents of the athletes, the coaches, and the Edina High School Athletic Office for their unconditional support of Edina athletes. In conclusion, Troy Stein, the EHS Activities Director, guaranteed the athletes on stage that though they were going to face adversity at the next level, they will always be able to rely on their character as well as everybody back home in Edina, Minnesota cheering them on.