Senior Bees take their game beyond The Hive

Submitted by Philip Chermonte 

Several seniors at Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School have decided to take their talents beyond the hive and have committed to continuing their athletic careers in college.

Kendall Barrett has been playing soccer for 14 years and plans to continue her soccer journey at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. 

“It has always been my dream to play D1 soccer at a school out of state, and Jackson State has given me both of those [opportunities],” Barrett said. 

Barrett felt an immediate sense of belonging with the team on campus, which confirmed she made the right choice.

One piece of advice Barrett has for future commits is to never give up on their dreams. 

“Keep sending emails, even if you think you’ve sent enough, keep sending them,” she added. 

Emily Melcher has been playing basketball since first grade, and plans to continue her athletic career at Mount Union University in Alliance, Ohio. 

Melcher especially appreciates the family environment the school provides for her. 

“The recruitment process was kind of stressful, but really fun at the same time,” she said, noting that the hardest part of the recruitment process was telling coaches that their college wasn’t the best fit for her. “It’s exciting to see all of the colleges that could possibly be interested, but it’s stressful when it comes down to picking the right one.” 

Sadie Lewis has been playing soccer for the past 14 years, and plans to extend her career at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania. Her commitment process started when her club coach mentioned Mercyhurst and Lewis reached out to the head coach. They set up a call, and Lewis really enjoyed talking to the coach and learning what the school had to offer. She then attended a talent identification camp at the school and really enjoyed it. Soon after, she received her offer.

Lewis said she is excited to play in a competitive, collegiate environment where everyone has similar goals.

Riley McPherson plans to continue his wrestling journey at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island after years of competing in the sport that he loves. McPherson describes his current and future coaches as highly supportive and very much involved throughout his recruitment process. 

McPherson recalls a text he received from a coach at Brown following a competition. 

“I hadn’t performed as well as I hoped, but he encouraged me, and said he was still proud of how I wrestled and expressed excitement to coach me next year,” he said. 

McPherson knew almost immediately Brown was where he wanted to be, and he hasn’t looked back since.  Because of the influence coaches like BBH Wrestling Coach Todd Haverdill had on him, Riley hopes to become a coach himself in the future.

Liane Tichy has been playing soccer for 14 years and will continue her soccer career abroad at the University of Gloucestershire in England. 

“It’ll be cool to play with people from different parts of the world,” she said

Tichy was motivated to take her talents overseas and elevate her game thanks to the support of her parents and teammates.  Tichy found the recruitment process stressful at times, but overall felt proud of the work she put in to explore what options she had.Other seniors who have committed include Garrett Alexander for gymnastics at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa;  Frank Aquila for wrestling at Wheeling University in Wheeling, West Virginia; Rylan Seacrist for wrestling at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona; and Broc Rousseau for gymnastics at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts.