By Kyle LoJacono
A trio of Gaither athletes made their college intentions official after signing letters of intent on National Signing Day Feb. 1.
Football players Mikhail Reece and Tyler McCollum signed with Yale and Colgate universities, respectively, while Kaycee McGuire will play soccer at Thomas University.
McGuire, a midfielder, started playing soccer at age 4 and is thankful for the chance to remain on the field.
“It feels great because such a small percent of girls get a chance to do this,” said McGuire, who is undecided on her major. She then added, “It was definitely nerve racking. I was shaking while I was writing.”
McGuire recorded nine goals and 19 assists during her four years at Gaither. She helped the Cowboys make the playoffs in 2010-11 and advance to the regional finals for the third time in the program’s 27-year history.
Thomas is an NAIA program in the Association of Independent Institutions conference.
As for the football players, signing on the same day held special significance for Reece and McCollum, who have been best friends since middle school.
“It makes it 100 times better,” McCollum said of signing together. “We’ve put in so much work to get better, so just knowing we both have someplace to go is a great thing.”
Reece was confident both would be playing at the next level.
“I remember there was a game he had to sit out of and he was really depressed about it,” Reece said. “He thought he wasn’t going to get to play in college and I told him ‘Tyler you’re going to play.’ Sure enough he got offers.”
McCollum, who started playing at age 7, said signing was a relief.
“It’s like no other feeling, but really I’m glad it’s over,” said McCollum, who will study economics or business. “It’s something I worked hard for all my life, and now I get a chance to prove myself in college.”
Reece, who plans on studying engineering, said Yale’s offer was his first.
“I’ve been blessed with opportunities and it’s great to know I’ve made the most of those opportunities,” said Reece, who started playing in seventh grade. “I’ve always had good grades, but when I learned you could get a scholarship to play football I decided to go for it.”
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound defensive end had 87 tackles, 5.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries last year. McCollum, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound corner back, picked off five passes while adding 52 tackles and two sacks in 2011.
The defensive duo helped Gaither go 9-4 while allowing 12.8 points per game last season. The 2011 Cowboys also made the regional finals for the second time in program history.
Yale and Colgate are Division I programs in the Ivy and Patriot leagues, respectively.
