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Varsity 541 NEWS NOW Tuesday fire damages Shady Cove home ... Second SOU candidate embraces liberal arts ... Portland parents criticize officials over lead at 2 schools ... Tuesday fire damages Shady Cove home ... Second SOU candidate embraces liberal arts ... Portland parents criticize officials over lead at 2 schools ... PREPS Good Sign Five St. Mary's athletes ink Division I letters to highlight signing day Comment By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Apr. 13, 2016 at 8:21 PM Updated Apr 13, 2016 at 8:23 PM By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Apr. 13, 2016 at 8:21 PM Updated Apr 13, 2016 at 8:23 PM » Social News With eight beaming faces propped up behind a long row of tables decorated by college pendants Wednesday morning, a group of St. Mary’s High senior athletes offered up a picturesque moment to prove you can achieve your collegiate dreams regardless of one’s school classification. The standout Class 3A Crusaders highlighted a host of commitments in the Rogue Valley this week during Wednesday’s opening of the national letter of intent spring signing period. Among the group of eight commits from St. Mary’s, five signed on with Division I institutions and you couldn’t swing a stick without hitting at least one with pre-med aspirations. “There are 320 kids here and we’ve got five kids going Division I in athletics … that’s insane,” said Josh Wu, who signed to play golf for the Air Force Academy. “It just shows that classifications are not necessarily everything. Just because you’re 6A doesn’t mean you’re better than a 3A or 4A or 5A school. I think it gives a lot of hope to a lot of the smaller schools that just because you’re not at the biggest school, that doesn’t mean you can’t compete at the highest level.” Among other Division I signings at St. Mary’s, Wu’s twin brother Jeremy signed to play golf at Valparaiso University; Marissa Dobry signed to run cross country and track at the University of California Berkeley; Mary Beth Barnum signed to play soccer at Portland State University; and Nick VanValkenburg signed to play football at Fresno State University. In other Crusader commitments, Alec Robertson signed with Division III George Fox University to play soccer while baseball teammates Ty Mulholland and Jose Perez signed with NAIA Presentation College in South Dakota. “I think it’s really exciting for this senior class to have that,” Dobry said of Wednesday’s fanfare. “Of course everyone deserves it because they’ve worked so hard. In the next couple of years you’re going to see more of this, a lot more kids signing than we have had at St. Mary’s because the athletic department is just so supportive and that’s really helping the kids be competitive. Normally St. Mary’s isn’t known for its athletics but it’s definitely rising in that aspect.” Barnum was the recent recipient of the Southern Oregon Sports Commission’s female athlete of the year for 2015 after scoring 18 goals with 10 assists and repeated as a first-team all-state selection. Barnum, who carries a 4.03 grade-point average and has designs on becoming a pediatrician, said joining the Honors College at Portland State and being part of the Vikings’ women’s soccer program was a no-brainer. “In the recruiting process, (PSU head coach Laura Schott) was super supportive and awesome and really encouraging about her program in general,” said Barnum. “Then after meeting with some of the players on my official visit, it really just hit home that was where I wanted to be.” Dobry, who hopes to go to medical school, said she had similar feelings at California as she sifted through her offers. Dobry won the Class 3A state title in cross country this past fall after placing second a year before in her first season at St. Mary’s, and was runner-up in track at the state meet last spring in the 1,500 meters and 3,000 meters. Dobry’s personal best time on the 5-kilometer course in cross country is 17 minutes, 48.2 seconds and her time of 4:37.52 in the 1,500 this spring is the second-fastest in the state at any level to go with her 10:03.10 time in the 3,000. “The big thing for me was at Cal, it meshed together competitive academics and athletics,” said Dobry, who boasts a 4.0 GPA. “And then the team won me over. Over all the other schools, the team was just incredible.” Dobry said she expects to gradually develop into a 10-kilometer runner in college and is excited about the opportunity to further challenge herself in running. VanValkenburg said he was just happy to have an opportunity to continue playing football. There isn’t a lot of attention you can gain as a placekicker at the 3A level but through his appearances at the Kicking World camps put on by Brent Grablachoff, VanValkenburg was able to catch the eye of Fresno State coaches. “Part of it really is going to those camps in San Diego and L.A., really you’ve just got to do what you can to get your name out there through the web,” he said of his recruiting experience. “I think that was the biggest key for me. Obviously having resources like (football coaches) Jamie Young and Greg Enright here at St. Mary’s was a big part of it but Brent Grablachoff in San Diego was just able to get my name out there and produce videos for me that no other coach really could.” VanValkenburg booted a career-long 43-yard field goal this past season for the Crusaders but unofficially in camp he has connected from 60 yards. The Wu twins follow the Division I golf commitment of their older brother Dylan, who plays for Northwestern, and only serve to further what should be more competitive family battles down the road. Jeremy Wu picked up where Dylan left off following his two 3A/2A/1A state championships with one of his own in record fashion last spring, posting the lowest 18-hole score in the history of Oregon high school state tournament golf with a bogey-free 9-under-par 63 en route to his two-day winning total of 7-under 137. “Dylan definitely has the confidence in that but I like to tease him because right now in the house I still have the lowest score of 63,” said Jeremy Wu of future matchups. “I’d like to bring that confidence into next year and hopefully when we play together I can get on top by at least one or two strokes. We’ll see, it will be a tight race definitely.” Jeremy Wu also played for St. Mary’s soccer team in the fall and, like his brother Josh, is a standout hockey player. Being able to compete in other sports was seen as a benefit for the Wu twins, who each want to follow in the footsteps of their parents and become doctors. “You have to definitely maintain a very calm composure on the golf course so it’s definitely fun to be able to play a sport where you can be a little bit more physical,” said Jeremy Wu. Valparaiso offered Jeremy Wu an attractive package, not only financially, academically and athletically, but also in fulfilling his desire to test himself by leaving Oregon for college. Another exciting part was the knowledge that four of Valparaiso’s 10 men’s golfers are pre-med majors. Josh Wu said he also hoped to grow through an experience outside of Oregon, and was impressed with the opportunities afforded him at the Air Force Academy. “It’s a way for me to develop myself,” he said. “I’m really curious to see how far my limits can take me. A lot of us stop short of what we really can achieve and I know at the Air Force Academy for golf, school and leadership qualities, you can’t learn it better anywhere else.” Josh Wu, who placed 14th overall at last year’s state tournament with a 158, also hopes to be able to square off against his brothers collegiately. “Dylan’s been the top dog for a while but once college hits, you never know how my brother and I are going to play,” said Josh Wu, who is two minutes older than Jeremy. “It’s definitely going to be a tight one for sure.” “Definitely me over Jeremy, though,” he added with a laugh. “He’s just a one-hit wonder.” When told of his twin’s comments, Jeremy Wu could only join in the joke: “He can think that but we’ll see … we’ll see.” In other local commitments, South Medford’s Josh Washington (South Puget Sound Community College) and Eskari Carter (Tacoma Community College) signed for basketball and Montana Logue (Hawaii Pacific University) and Andie DeVries (Occidental College) signed for soccer; North Medford’s Tra Kucera (Northwest Christian University) signed for softball; Crater’s Jordan Monroe (Oregon Tech) signed for cross country and track, Jason Santoni (George Fox) signed for football and Walter Vail (Rogue Community College) signed for cross country; Ashland’s Emma Hickman (University of New Orleans) signed for track and field and Olivia Rooney (St. Mary’s University) signed for crew; Eagle Point’s Scott Martin (Gig Harbor Community College) and Bryan O’Neil (Southwest Oregon CC) signed for wrestling, Ryan Lorenz (Linn Benton CC) signed for baseball, Paige Leeper (Southern Oregon University) signed for softball, Kylene Briggs (Linn Benton CC) signed for volleyball and Jordan Castro and Jason Higgison each signed for football at College of the Siskiyous; Cascade Christian’s Ellie Brown (Wheaton College) signed for volleyball. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Apr. 13, 2016 at 8:21 PM Updated Apr 13, 2016 at 8:23 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction Schedules & Events --> Recent Scores --> Prep Notebook Kris Henry Challengers make it back on top in softball Winning the Southern Cascade League title seemed like a pretty bold goal this spring considering the recent history of the Cascade Christian... Varsity 541 Photos U19 Memorial Day Challenge North Medford vs. Grant State Track & Field 6A-6 SWC District Championships 5A-3 Midwestern League Districts - Day 1 Grants Pass Rotary Invitational » More Photo Galleries Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications | Contact Us | Advertise | © Copyright Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.