Nation Ford athletes honored for earning college scholarships

Eight Nation Ford Falcons seniors have signed letters of intent to take their athletic talents to the next level.

Three lacrosse, two baseball, a soccer, football and volleyball player all committed during a ceremony held at the school last week.

Nick Catan, Darcy Muttillo and Kayla Sobas all signed to play college lacrosse. Sobas will be playing at Southern Virginia University. The 18-year-old will be a pre-med major. She looked at BYU, Hawaii and the University of South Carolina, but said Southern Virginia was very appealing to what she was looking for.

“I really loved the environment there,” she said. “They have a family type bond and they were very welcoming.”

Catan, 18, looks to major in business finance and will be playing lacrosse at Greensboro College. He decided to go there over other schools like Belmont-Abbey and Wingate because of its proximity to home.

“I really enjoyed how close it is,” he said.

“I’m big on family, so it’s nice to be not far away. I am going to work my tail off to start; Hopefully, I will get some time on the field as a freshman.”

His Nation Ford teammate, Darcy Muttillo, 17, will be going to North Greenville University, and said his faith was something that helped him choose that school, which is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention. He plans on majoring in broadcast journalism.

“I really liked the coach,” Muttillo said. “He really seemed down to earth. Plus it’s a fairly new program and that fact that it was a Division II school pulled me towards it.”

Baseball players Alex Stennett and Nick Hoffman will at least know each other when they get to Spartanburg Methodist College, where both of them signed. Hoffman, 18, said he is undecided as regarding a major, but knows the two year school will help him decide where he would like to play next.

“It’s a great opportunity to play on a really good team,” Hoffman said. “It’s a really nice campus. They really sold me about the opportunity to play.”

Stennett, 18, who plans on majoring in business and was also recruited heavily for football, will be playing outfield for Spartanburg Methodist.

“It’s a great program and it gives me a good chance to go where I want to go,” Stennett said. “I like the coaches and the tradition there.”

Chanel Turner, 18, will be going to Queens University to play volleyball and major in biology. She looked at other schools in North Carolina and Florida, but decided Queens is where she wanted to go.

“I like the program and the school in general,” she said. “They have really enhanced their volleyball.”

Harry Goodwin, 17, will be playing football at Averett University, where he will be extending his talents on the defensive side of the ball. Goodwin will be majoring in environmental science.

“The college is a good family feel,” Goodwin said. “Everyone is close there and there was an opportunity there for me.”

Matt Thomas, 17, will be heading to Erskine College to play soccer. The future biology major also had other offers to consider, including scholarships from Lander and Lees-McCrae. He said the physical size of Erskine was just right.

“The campus felt right,” he said. “It wasn’t a big college where you can get lost at. I feel like I can succeed there.”

A goalie, Thomas was noticed through his Discoveries Soccer club team.

This story was originally published April 24, 2017 at 11:03 AM with the headline "Nation Ford athletes honored for earning college scholarships."