Signing Day in SBISD

Female student-athletes ruled during Nov. 11 Signing Day events held at Memorial and Stratford high schools.

In all, 11 young athletes signed to play collegiate-level sports. The morning event at Memorial High School drew appreciative many moms, dads, grandparents plus other friends and family to a strikingly diverse set of athletic recognitions.

Taking her softball skills off to Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, is Isabel Jack. Highly rated cross country and track runner Khayla Patel will join the Rice University student body.

Tall and hugely talented volleyball player Maddie Phillips is headed to Lipscomb University, a private, coeducational liberal arts college in Nashville, Tenn. T-shirt-wearing family members proudly advertised Maddie’s college pick at the morning signing event.

Maddie Prator will row for the University of Texas at Austin next year, and Kirby Rathjen heads to the gymnastics training at the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Ark.

Also signing from Memorial is Dane Esses, who will play tennis with the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.

In addition to a well-decorated Signing Day room filled with balloons and college colors and pennants, each of the Memorial High athletes enjoyed a specially made, hand decorated Nothing Bundt Cake at her signing table chair.

On the same Signing Day, Stratford High’s girls softball program was represented well with five student-athletes signing up to play softball at the college level.

Haleigh Davis will bat for Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. Headed to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia is Jennifer Brann, while her sister and teammate, Elizabeth, will play at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Megan Gardner is headed off to East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas. Leslie Merchan will play for Austin College, a private, liberal arts college located in Sherman, Texas.