Fall, winter and spring athletics all came together in the new gym on Wednesday as a trio of Clipper senior athletes signed “letters of intent” to compete at the collegiate level.
Brennan Kortuem (left) will play Division III basketball for Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Ava Hahn (center) will play Division II volleyball for Minnesota State University, Moorhead, and TJ Waldron (right) will compete in both Division II cross country and track & field at Winona State University.
“Playing a sport in college is a difficult task, and setting yourself apart from other prospective athletes is a special achievement in itself,” said acting athletic director Charlie Haugen, who presided over the signing ceremony.
Kortuem chose “Gustie” basketball because he has relatives who attend GAC, including a cousin who is on the men’s basketball team.
“That made it an easy choice.”
He will do workouts on his own during the summer before practice starts in the fall. He is excited to compete at a collegiate level while attaining a college degree.
“Playing college basketball is something I wanted to do since I was a kid,” he said.
“I chose Moorhead because the team was super welcoming and the coaches were super supportive,” Hahn said.
She will meet her “Dragon” teammates and start practicing on August 17 but will begin workouts this summer and will be on campus for a week in July for camps.
“I am super excited to play at the next level and compete for a spot,” she said. “I am excited to be with the team and start practicing.”
“I chose Winona because I have heard great things about the school and how their Engineering program is good too,” Waldron said. “I also enjoyed the scenery when I toured there.”
His first on-site practice with his “Warrior” teammates will take place during the second week of August, but he will be running throughout the summer to prepare for the season.
“I am nervous about competing at this type of level, but I feel prepared for the races,” Waldron said.
He will have to adjust from running the 5K cross country runs in high school to the 8K collegiate distance, which goes up to 10K during championships.
“My expectations are pretty high because I want to do well, but I'm also not going to be mad with how my first season goes, and I just need to adjust to the difference in mileage.”
With this group, five CHS seniors will compete at a collegiate level.
Allison Cink will join the Division III Marian University (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin) “Sabre” golf team while Savannah Meyer will join the Division II Minnesota State University, Mankato “Maverick” volleyball team. They both signed last fall.
