The finish line is near for four San Lorenzo Valley High School seniors who signed letters of intent to run for Division I universities in the fall.
The student athletes, Anna Maxwell, Claire MacMillan, Abby Sherman and Jessica Germany were each part of the Division IV cross country state championship and their stellar season opened doors for them to run at the Division I level in college.
The girls each signed a letter of intent in a ceremony at the high school on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
“I’m very proud of this group,” said cross country and track coach Rob Collins. “There are seven girls there on the varsity team and four are going to Division I schools.”
Collins lauded the comebacks of Sherman and Germany who each returned from serious injuries to run well as senior cross country runners.
“They have all worked hard to get where they are going,” Collins said.
Sherman, who will attend the University of Portland and study marketing and business administration, had a cist in her left tibia that was surgically repaired and caused her to miss nine months, including two track seasons. Her goal of running in college was all but dashed.
“When I got injured I thought it was the end of the line,” Sherman said. “It was my dream from day one to become a collegiate athlete.”
Sherman worked hard to return from the injury and was a key member of the cross country team, running stellar times for the Cougars as they powered through league, CCS and state championship races.
Germany, a senior who will graduate early in June after only three years of high school, signed to run for California State University, Long Beach where she will study criminal justice.
“It’s been a goal of mine since elementary school to run Division I in college,” Germany said. She took summer school classes each year in order to graduate early and battled through Plica tissue surgery in her knees to reach her goal. She missed eight months after surgery.
“I came back and made the varsity state team this year,” Germany said. “It was mission accomplished.”
MacMillan will attend the University of Utah in Salt Lake City where she plans to study political science, but may switch to business or civil engineering at some point.
She was part of the ASB class that put together the ceremony for the signees.
“It’s exciting,” MacMillan said. “We’ve never done this at SLV. It’s definitely a little embarrassing, but they are trying to appreciate us for working hard.”
MacMillan, a captain on the varsity cross country team said she was proud to be signing with the three other girls.
“I think we’re all so proud of each other,” she said. “We have just grown together and learned a lot from each other.”
Maxwell was the top Division IV runner during the cross country season and has run at several national and world competitions since the season ended. She will attend the University of Washington and study biology and environmental science. She plans to eventually study environmental law.
A highly-touted runner, Maxwell chose Washington because of the academic programs and she felt clicked best with the Husky coach and team. She visited Stanford, the University of Arizona and Washington before making her choice.
She was thrilled to celebrate signing day with her teammates.
“It’s super exciting,” she said. “It’s indescribable, really. It’s a goal of most high school runners to compete in college. We all shared that dream and to accomplish this together is exciting.”
Collins said a fifth senior, Jessica Jensen is still deciding where she will run, most likely at a Division III college.
Scotts Valley
Several Scotts Valley High School athletes have also committed to high level athletic programs.
Scotts Valley High School basketball star Nadene Hart plans to attend and play for California Polytechnic University, Pomona. Hart, a 6-1 forward, is in the midst of a strong season for the 18-3 Falcons.
Senior cross country and track star Scott Edwards committed to run for University of California, Los Angeles in the fall. Edwards was one of the leaders on Scotts Valley’s CCS-winning boys cross country team.
