Being a varsity athlete takes drive, commitment, teamwork, heart, and even more to continue with the  sport in college. So far, the Class of 2016 features 19 senior athletes who all possess these attributes and have chosen to pursue their various sports on a higher level after high school. While these are certainly not all of the seniors who will be playing a sport in college, featured here are six outstanding athletes in their respective sports.

Luke Uransel

Name: Luke Uransel

School: North Dakota State College of Science

Division: NJCAA

Sport: Football

Position: Kicker

Major: Business

Number of years playing: 1

Recruitment process: “For football, I had to contact a lot of places. I sent my email and all my highlights and everything like that out pretty much everywhere for football.”

Preparation for upcoming season: “I’ve been put on a dieting plan to gain some weight, just kind of getting in and out of the weight room, staying healthy, and just working out is what it comes down to. Oh, and buying a big coat because it’s gonna be a little cold.”

Future goals with football: “Ideally, I’m just trying to get out and see what happens. At the end of the day, I’m open to the fact that football might not even be my path. This gave me the opportunity to kick a football again, which is what I love to do.”

Hannah Zerwas

Name: Hannah Zerwas

School: Clemson University

Division: NCAA-I

Sport: Rowing

Position: Starboard-3 or 5 seat

Major: Undecided; interest in business

Number of years playing: 5 months

Recruitment process: “I did a 2,000 meter test, and I sent those times in, and that was the baseline. From there then I just sent my stuff to Clemson so they [could] see the ability and potential in me, so there is like that risk factor almost.”

Preparation for upcoming season: “I’m going to do a lot of running and a lot of rowing in Crystal Lake to build up for those longer pieces.”

Future goals with rowing: “I definitely want to row for all four years of college, and then if I love it there’s a lot of national teams that you can try out for, so maybe that’s an after, post-college thing just to continue rowing and being on different teams.”

Macey Neubauer

Name: Macey Neubauer

School: Miami University

Division: NCAA-I

Sport: Swimming

Events: 100 breaststroke, 100 fly, 200 IM, 200 fly, 200 breaststroke, and 400 IM

Major: Business

Number of years playing: 12 years

Recruitment process: “I began at the beginning of my junior year by looking on CollegeSwimming.com and finding out the swim teams that my times would fit well with.  Eventually some schools gave me offers, but I had already fell in love with Miami and knew that it was the school for me.”

Preparation for upcoming season: “I will swim on my club team all throughout the summer to get me in peak shape for my freshman season.”

Future goals with swimming: “No [I do not want to make a career out of it], but I do want to continue to swim throughout my entire life.”

Emma Davellis

Name: Emma Davellis

School: Aurora University

Division: NCAA-III

Sport: Bowling

Major: Nursing

Number of years playing: Competitively for 5 years

Recruitment process: “It was a tournament outside of school that I found out about Aurora, and the coach contacted me saying, ‘Hey, let’s set up a visit.’ It was basically everything that the other schools had, like the best parts…I signed and got done really early, like I think in November I officially signed.”

Preparation for upcoming season: “I bowl a lot over the summer, I travel to different states to bowl, but academically I feel like I just kind of have to straighten out the priorities just to see where everything kind of lies.”

Future goals with bowling: “I’m going to play it by ear. I want to make sure my academics coincide with bowling. I really enjoy it, like I think it’s fun to watch people do well, so I want to see what I can get out of college.”

Brandon Boulger

Name: Brandon Boulger

School: Milwaukee School of Engineering

Division: NCAA-III

Sport: Lacrosse

Position: Defender

Major: Software Engineering

Number of years playing: 6 -7

Recruitment process: “I got a lot of emails from a wide variety of colleges, [including schools that are] much better at lacrosse. Playing lacrosse at this school wasn’t that big of an issue, so it was really just deciding which was the best academic fit for me. And this one seemed like it was the one for me.”

Preparation for upcoming season: “Probably a lot of running and working out over the summer, as well as maybe teaching a couple of camps. I’m not sure.”

Future goals with lacrosse:  “Realistically, not that much. It just seems like it’s going to be a lot of fun, I’ll get a nice friend group, but there’s no future in lacrosse. For lacrosse, there’s no way to. It’s impossible.”

Courtney Daugerdas

Name: Courtney Daugerdas

School: Ohio University

Division: NCAA-I

Sport: Soccer

Position: Forward/Attack

Major: Finance

Number of years playing: 15

Recruitment process: “I got offers from SMU (Southern Methodist University), Northern Illinois University, and I was looking at George Washington University for a little bit. I was kind of looking everywhere, but Ohio University contacted me, and I went and visited, and I loved the school. I specifically loved my coach, so that’s why I wanted to go there.”

Preparation for upcoming season: “I play with my club team; we play until June in the summer. And I’m working out at a place called All Pro Sports Performance, where I work on agility and speed. I’m also playing varsity lacrosse this year so I can be more in shape. And I work with a special trainer for soccer.”

Future goals with soccer:  “Just the experience, I guess. Playing for a team in college brings a lot of attributes to the real world, such as leadership and teamwork, and I love playing soccer. I really just look forward to playing four more years of a sport I love.”

Allison Watson

School: Loyola University Chicago

Division: NCAA-I

Sport: Volleyball

Position: Outside hitter

Major: Human Services

Number of years playing: 7

Recruitment process: “Mine was actually a lot different. My dad just started working at Loyola, and I was talking at other schools, and I didn’t have Loyola in mind at all. And my dad was watching one of my tournaments and was talking to the coach at Loyola, and he kind of said something about me playing there, and my dad thought he was kidding. And then I started talking to them, and it just worked out.”

Preparation for upcoming season: “The summer workout packet that they give us.”

Future goals with volleyball: “Just knowing people going into college will be nice, having the support and starting something new and knowing there’s a team I can go talk to.”

Ethan Fowkes

Name: Ethan Fowkes

School: Olivet Nazarene University

Division: NAIA

Sport: Track

Events: 400 meter dash and 4×400 meter relay

Major: Criminal Justice

Number of years playing: 5

Recruitment process: “The process has not felt that long, but ever since I visited for the first time I received calls and emails from the coaches. At state my junior year I had the opportunity to speak with multiple coaches as well and get a feel for what schools were looking for in me as a runner to get to run in college.

I got offers from a couple schools, but overall the coaching staff really helped my final decision. Most of the schools were what I was looking for and after meeting with Olivet’s coaching staff I knew that is where I wanted to go.”

Preparation for upcoming season: “I am sent a summer workout that will consist of running and lifting until I get to campus. Once on campus there are lifting sessions a couple times a week and other training sessions leading up to indoor track season.”

Future goals with track: “I am hoping to get better in my sport and learn new lessons that can be carried over to outside of sports as well. I am looking to also get new friendships out of meeting new teammates throughout my four years. I [also] hope to make it to the college nationals meet with a large portion of my team next year and for the years to follow.”