2015

West Lauderdale standouts sign with colleges By Drew Kerekes dkerekes@themer·d1arista· coi"'I

Seven seniors, se,·en scholar- - The 12th-grade members o: ~ West Lauderdale High Schoo! ~'"is soccer team will alJ be going m col– lege on a scholarship of some~ with six of them signing We6es:i.ZT afternoon at the school to co::.::::_ their soccer careers. Alisa Bullock, Abbie Pope, : o. :.:! • Hull, Taylor Gray and Lacy s;n:-.; signed letters of intent with Mc..~ Community College at the 5ciiooF library, while Kaitlyn Kn.;j} ir.k.-..: with East Central Comm~:v C Erin Johnson, the other _e~;: = Lady Knights' squad, will be a:;~ Ole Miss in the falJ on an acadc– scholarship. "I think it says a lot about t1:.:: a::i– letic programs here at West I.z::d– erdale, and our soccer pro~ .. head coach Alex George said T c proud for them to go onto ilie ua: level. I hate to lose them - the""'re irreplaceable - but we re he.:e w ebrate the moment and oppo~: for them to go on and continue See WBST on page B3- ----

Spacial to The Star Members of the West Lauderdale High School girls soccer team signed with area junior c~lleges Wednesay afternoon. They are, from left, front row, Kaitlyn Knuth, who signed with East Central Community College, and her five teammates, who signed with Meridian C?~munity Co!lege: Alisa Bulloc.k, Abbie Pope, Jordyn Hull, Taylor Gray and Lacy B1lhngs. Also pictured are, standing, assistant coach Sonya Rowell and head coach Alex

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_ .. ____ "It's kind of a big rivalry, so it's going to be weird playing against her, because we're always together," Hull said. "'Good luck,' is all I can say." No matter where the different paths lead, George said he's confident the girls have built bonds that can never be broken. "They're a really tight-knit group," George said. ''I've had them since they were very little. They just have good camaraderie and leadership skills, and they're so easy to coach and be around. They're a lot of fun, and I'm just glad to be a part of their lives." Hull agreed with George, saying the group of girls would remain close. "We've always been a family," she said. "Although some of us are splitting ways, we're always going to be together, because we're like sisters." Said Knuth, "This is a special group. We were kind of looked upon as the group that would go to state this year. and we're all really close. We trained together and became more than team– mates - we're all like ·isters." -

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Hull, a forward, said she is looking forward to continuing her career at M CC with four of her other teammates. "We've been together for so long, and it means so much," said Hull, who will also be playing tennis at MCC. "We can still continue to play together, so it's a big deal for us." In Knuth's case, she's the lone player to sign with ECCC, but she said she's happy everyone got the chance to con- tinue playing. · 'Tm feeling bittersweet, because I've played with these girls since I was little," Knuth said. "It's something Ill miss, but everyone gets led down dif– ferent paths. I think it's a decision for the better, and everyone wilJ benefit from the decision that was made." Hull admitted it would be strange seeing Knuth on the opposing sideline when the two teams play each other in the future.

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CARTHAGINIAN ____, NEWTON COUNTY APPEAL SPIRIT OF MORTON _,./__ MERIDIAN STAR - ...!.-P'---·