Gallery • 3 Photos

Clay Courtmanche playing soccer in his senior season

Only 2% of all high school athletes go on to play at the Division I level, yet you pass 5 of them in the halls everyday. Division I athletes are the most prestigious athletes at the collegiate level. Being given the opportunity to play at this level is a dream for most High School athletes. The amount of students that go D

ivision III compared to Division I is very drastic. Division I athletes are the most well known and are also held to the highest standard of athletics. DI is considered the largest and most competitive division and it also offers the most scholarships. It is also the hardest level to play at.

This year our graduating class of 372 students, is sending five of those to a Division I program. This a big difference from the one Division I commit last year (Chase Jeter who attends Dartmouth to play Baseball). You may be wondering why this is such a big deal. To these five athletes it an incredible accomplishment and an amazing opportunity to be able to do so. According to Miller Anderson, “the recruitment process is an extremely long process. But in the end all the time put into this will pay off.”

Giovanna Dionicio

Giovanna Dionicio, a 17 year old soccer player has grown up in an athletic environment her entire life. Beginning at the youth league, Giovanna has played at the highest level for the entirety of her career. Her talents grew as she worked her way through every A team in the travel league. Coming into High school, freshman year her skillset exceeded the requirements to play on the varsity team. As a result of her pure domination on the field and guidance from her coaches, she caught the attention of multiple prestigious colleges when she was only 15 years old,(some being  Wesleyan, Columbia University, Penn State, Brown and Yale). G started the recruiting process during her junior year. After over four months of searching for the right fit, she decided Yale would be best for her. When asked why she picked Yale she responded, “It’s close to home, they have a great program there and I already know some of the coaches so I feel comfortable.” Giovanna also added that she is a little nervous for the competition, but she couldn’t be more excited to start at her Ivy League school.

Clay Courtmanche

Clay Courtmanche first played for FSA, a club team, and Hall in his freshman year, he was anxious to play, but ready to represent his high school in the sport he loved. After the stellar season, he began to get recruited by a few schools, “Freshman year after high school season, but schools couldn’t personally reply until sophomore year because of NCAA rules”. He realized the potential he had to become an impactful player so he concentrated his time on and off the field, from academics to soccer camps during the summer, which is where he was first unofficially introduced to University of New Hampshire. But before the large D1 schools began to contact him, he was recruited by other division schools such as “Saint Lawrence, Connecticut College and a few other technical schools.” that he listed off. Towards the end of his junior year he had to narrow down the big list of schools to five, “Northeastern, Georgetown, Clemson, Fordham and University of New Hampshire.” Eventually he decided and chose University of New Hampshire because “It was financially the best option for me” clay said relieved, “I am extremely nervous yet excited to be playing goalie in a top 25 team.”

Charlie Cubbage

After his freshman year, Charlie Cubbage began receiving what would begin to pave the way for his post-high school career with the introduction of sports. In the beginning he was mainly getting contacted by Division III schools, like “Vassar and Wesleyan.” This ambition caused him to begin to contact a numerous amount of Division I schools, who reached back to him. One of these schools was Bucknell, a nice liberal arts school in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania with a stellar soccer program. Charlie felt connected with the school, “I chose Bucknell because of the coaches. We connected really well, and I think I have a chance of getting good playing time. Also, it’s not too far from home and my family 3 hour 30 min drive.” Eventually, he decided that this was the place for him, and committed in the winter of his junior year. Charlie concludes with, “I am excited to play at a very high level and meet my teammates.”

For division 1 Cross Country, the recruitment process begins on August 1st, 2018, and ends July 31st, 2019. There are two contacting periods for the athletes to talk to coaches. August 22nd, to December 9th, then January 2nd to July 31st 2019. The time between the contacting periods is known as a dead period, in which students are not eligible to contact college coaches. The most common time to commit is during senior year when 85 percent of runners sign on to their schools.

Trey Cormier

“I made the decision tuesday night (October 16th)”, star track and field athlete Trey Cormier stated. In just under a year Trey began his recruitment process and fell in love with Dartmouth University immediately. Although receiving plenty of offers from Iowa State, and Princeton as well, Trey had his heart set on the Ivy league institution, Dartmouth. Trey claims, “Initially my family and I were not fans of the price tag that comes along with the school, but after further consideration I liked the team members, the campus, and the school”. When asked his feelings on joining the track and field and cross country teams at the new school Trey was quick to say he that he is excited and not nervous since he knows a hand full of members already since they are from Connecticut also. After competing with fellow teammate Miller Anderson for 4 years, entering the fall of 2019 the two will be competing side by side for their respective division 1 universities.

Miller Anderson

Since an early age, Miller was always seen outside running at impressive speeds, breaking school records as if it was a warm up for him. Coming into high school Miller had been an avid soccer player, playing on the West Hartford Travel Soccer team for many years. When he came to Hall he decided to change things up and wanted to run. Little did Miller realize the potential he had as a runner. Miller Committed to Villanova this past Monday, October 15th. Miller contacted the coach back in January of his Junior year and was finally able to meet him and some runners from Villanova in April. What really helped Miller decided on Villanova was, “the great group of guys. We immediately connected which helped me make my decision”. Miller was between Villanova and Iowa state and after his over nights at both schools it was clear what school was right for him! Miller is “extremely excited. I can’t wait to have the opportunity to be coached by a highly respected runner and to be part of a new team”. Making the change for some kids is harder than others but Miller seems to be very eager to have this amazing opportunity. We are excited to see Miller make the change from a Warrior to a Wildcat!

Playing a Division I sport is not something a lot of people are able to do. With these five athletes leaving for college in a mere 10 months, they will begin to notice how big of a change is ahead. We all know that they are capable of whatever is thrown at them! Good luck to all and remember us when you are famous one day!