On Monday, February 8, five BSM athletes were recognized for their commitments to various schools in football, soccer, and track.  Although the official signing day was February 3, the ceremony was held the following Monday.

Aleksa Tataryn decided to sign with Loyola University Chicago because of the ability to play Division I soccer while getting a good education.  “I wanted to make sure the school I went to had good academics and that there was a lot of help through tutoring, that I liked the school, and that they had a decent soccer team,” Tataryn said.

Even though she officially signed February 3, she still thought it was a fun experience.  “I actually signed at my kitchen table, so it wasn’t anything big, but the signing ceremony was pretty exciting,” she said.

Once she gets to Loyola, she hopes to work hard to get playing time and go from there.  “I committed pretty late, so I want to work hard my freshman year for playing time and hopefully start the next year or at least my junior year,” she said.

Cole Jacob only recently decided to take his talents to Fargo for football, but he felt very comfortable with North Dakota State University.  “They put in the most interest in me and when I visited there they made me feel very welcome,” Jacob said.

Signing day can be very exciting, but he also admitted it was stressful.  “I would say I was more stressed out than excited.  I was excited, but it was so much to handle because it all happened in about a week,” Jacob said.  As for his goals, he hopes to hit the weight room and have fun.  “I don’t really know what to expect yet, but I just hope to work super hard and get bigger,” he said.

Mae Fullerton committed to Brown University for track in November because of the school and the coach.  “The school was really attractive to me.  It really fit my learning style, it’s very progressive in how they approach teaching, and I like the no curriculum program there.  The coach of the team was also very nice,” Fullerton said.

Once she officially signed, she said that she felt excited and relieved.  At Brown, she hopes to meet expectations and get good grades.  “Hopefully I can do my best as a runner and meet my coach’s expectations, while also maintaining a balance and pushing myself as a student,” she said.

The other two signees, Sophie Roux and Taylor Gelling, both decided to commit to the University of Nebraska-Omaha, however they never planned on going to college together.  “I never thought of playing with Taylor, it was never a goal, but she really liked it so I thought I might like it too, and I visited there and I really did,” Roux said.

Gelling expressed the same feeling.  “We didn’t plan it at all. We weren’t even thinking about the school at the same time. It’s going to be fun, I’m excited,” she said.

They both found the apartment style dorms and coaches as reasons for committing there.  “I really liked the coaching staff – they were really nice – and the campus, the dorms, and the teammates,” Gelling said.

Sophie wasn’t as sure of the school at first, but she came to really like it.  “When I first thought of the school before visiting, I thought it was going to be really boring, but when I visited there I really liked it.  The facilities were really nice and the dorms were apartment style, which I really liked.  I also really like the coaches because I felt I could really trust them,” Roux said.

As signing day came around, Gelling expressed relief and excitement.  “I was super happy. It was also a relief because I knew that I was officially playing next fall and that nothing could happen,” Gelling said.

Roux expressed the same sentiment.  “It was stressful, but it was fun because it was ending a long journey but also starting something new.” Roux said.

Sophie hopes to get playing time and build for the future.  “I hope to come in really strong and play as much as possible. It’s a pretty new program, so hopefully we can start a really good team.  I’m excited to see how it goes,” she said.

Taylor is just hoping to get some playing time.  “I want to work hard and maybe get a starting job in the fall. I don’t know what position I’ll play, but I don’t care. I just want to play,” she said.