Half a dozen Falcons leaving the Nation Ford nest for next level of competition

The Nation Ford Falcons had six athletes commit to playing college sport during the first signing period of the school year.

The signing was headlined by state champion swimmer Ryan Williams, two baseball players in Evan Lammers and Matt Levy, softball player Sabrina Johnson, lacrosse player Alex Ramadanovic and region track champion Angelnique Bryant.

Williams, 17, was probably the highest profile athlete to sign as he recently won two state championships in swimming in the 200-yard individual medley and the 500-freestyle. He’ll compete in both events at Auburn University.

His mother, Ginny Williams, was a swimmer for Auburn from 1985-89.

“I really liked the team,” Williams said. “I kind of knew it was the place for me.”

Williams picked Auburn over South Carolina and plans on majoring in pre-dentistry.

Ramadanovic, 17, will be attending Methodist University to play lacrosse and major in sports management. He also looked at Pfeiffer University and Piedmont College.

“I really liked the coaches and their playing style,” he said.

In his time at Nation Ford, Ramadanovic has scored 32 goals in 23 games and has eight assists heading into his senior season with the Falcons.

Bryant, 17, will be going to USC-Upstate to run track and major in physical therapy. She will run the 100 and 200-meters and be a part of the 4x100 relay for the school.

“I really liked the campus, coaches and staff,” she said.

Bryant also looked at North Carolina A&T and the University of Georgia as well. This past season, she finished third in the 100 meters at the 5A state championships. She won the Region IV title in both the 100 and 200-meters last season as well, and was part of the 4x100 team that also did the same.

Johnson, 17, will be heading to the College of Charleston to play softball. She considered Appalachian State, Syracuse University and the University of North Carolina, but said the pull of Charleston itself was too much to pass up.

“I love Charleston,” she said. “So the location and they offered me a good scholarship (sealed it).”

She plans on majoring in biology and then go on to dental school.

The two final signees for Nation Ford are both pitchers. Lammers will be going to USC-Lancaster and Levy is headed for Piedmont International University.

Levy, 17, will major in business at the Winston-Salem school. He said that Piedmont was interested in him after seeing him pitch.

“They saw me at a camp and saw me pitch one weekend,” he said.

Lammers, 17, is undecided on a major.

“They have got a really exciting program,” he said about USC-Lancaster. “They have a new coaching staff and they are really proactive.”

He said his goal at the school was to elevate his game to sign with a Division I school after two years.

This story was originally published November 9, 2017 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Half a dozen Falcons leaving the Nation Ford nest for next level of competition."