Six Pennridge seniors set to continue athletic careers in college

EAST ROCKHILL >> For the most part, when a high school athlete plays their final game for their respective school, that is the last time those competitors will ever play that sport, at least at a high level.

That is, unless you’re good enough to play collegiately.

Thursday, six Pennridge student-athletes announced their plans to play for their respective colleges at an event at the Pennridge High School.

Like most of these events, this was a case for the school to showcase their best athletes having achieved one of the highest individual successes possible.

It’s always interesting to hear all the different stories about how these kids ended up where they are today, with this great opportunity ahead of them.

Some, like football player Dan Branch, have known for a while that they wanted to play at the next level.

“When I really wanted to start playing (collegiately) was when I was really young,” Branch said. “And as I realized that maybe this might become a reality I just started to actually try really hard for it and start working and thinking I could actually do this.”

Branch is headed to Albright College next year to play either offensive guard or offensive tackle, but wherever he ends up playing the coaches can guarantee they will be getting an athlete that shows no quit, and never takes a play off.

“It’s pretty easy to talk about Dan (Branch) he just plays with a high motor,” Pennridge football head coach Jeff Hollenbach said. “He is all energy all the time, he played right tackle for us for two years now and as an example if we ran a sweep left, so the ball is out on the left side, he is coming across the field and there were a lot of times where he’d end up 10 to 15 yards down the field just because of his energy and passion for the game.”

In addition to Branch, brothers Cayce and Brody Giblin both committed to play soccer at Bloomsburg University.

While it may seem like these two planned to play together, they say it is just something that sort of happened by chance.

“Everyone asks us that (If it was a goal for them to play together),” Cayce Giblin said. “It was always kind of like it would be nice to because we do work well together but it wasn’t like we went into this thinking we’re definitely going to play together. It just ended up that way.”

Bloomsburg was not the only school with multiple commits at Thursday’s event. Eastern University, a school with an enrollment of about 2,400 students in Wayne, also had a strong showing with two student-athletes of their own in attendance.

Lacrosse player Kyle Fanelli said he was considering Sacred Heart and Mount Saint Mary’s as well, but in the end Eastern just had everything he was looking for.

“Eastern, it was just a great fit for me,” Fanelli said. “Close to home where my brothers can come watch me play, and my parents, and they’re a top 20 program and I want to win when I go there.”

The other Eastern University commit, softball player Meghan Johnson, said she always imagined herself attending a big school, but Eastern afforded her the opportunity to keep playing softball, something she was not ready to give up just yet.

“I was always kind of a big school person,” Johnson said. “But Eastern gave me the opportunity to keep playing softball, which I was interested in and it was one of the small schools that I was actually interested in and it was one of the small schools that I actually liked the campus and it didn’t feel too small. It felt big when I was there and it just gave me the opportunity to keep doing what I love.”

Rounding out the group was Matt Firuta, who will be attending East Stroudsburg University for track and field, running the 200 meters as well as perhaps the 60 and 400 meters. Firuta will be majoring in Physical Education and Health Sciences and said his interaction with the team and coaches, as well as the school having his major, was a crucial factor in his decision.

“I really liked East Stroudsburg because the coaching staff really took a deep interest in me and I really felt like I connected with the guys I met there,” Firuta said. “And I thought the school would be the right fit for me, it had the perfect major for me, so just the recruiting process they made it really easy for me and I think it’s going to be the best fit.”

No matter the reason these student-athletes chose their school, they have achieved a huge success by using athletics as a vehicle towards a better education.