Six Holton Athletes Commit on Spring Signing Day!

On Thursday, April 11, Holton-Arms celebrated six Holton athletes who signed up to continue their athletic careers for Division III schools. Lindsay Alisbah and Samantha Gilbert will continue their swimming careers at Washington University in St. Louis and Babson College, respectively. Eleanor Cooper will play field hockey for Hamilton College, Kendall Frederick will attend Johns Hopkins University and play soccer, Lilly Spector will compete for Occidental College in basketball, and Charlotte Klein plans to play tennis at the University of Chicago.

Lindsay’s favorite part of swimming is the team aspect, especially how everyone cheers each other on. She says she will take what she learned and loves about the team aspect of swimming with her to Washington University. “As an upperclassman, I loved being supportive and getting to know the underclassmen and taking them under my wing. I hope I take this leadership to college.”

“I love being in the water with my teammates. We all bond over so much and I have formed some of my best friendships from the sport,” says Samantha, another Panther swimmer. Her favorite swimming memory is earning first, second, and third with her club teammates in the 100 breaststroke at the WMPSSDL finals this year. She looks forward to connecting with her new teammates at Babson College.

Eleanor had kind words for her field hockey coaches, Coach Hannah Leckey and Coach Cami Roth. She said, “Going into this season, we had graduated a ton of seniors and we had a lot of players who were new to the game. With their coaching, we had one of the best seasons ever. The team worked hard and improved so much this season and we could not have done it without Coach Leckey and Coach Roth.” Eleanor says that field hockey brings her joy because it is such a unique sport - competitive, fast-moving, and smart, requiring not just athleticism but also a lot of game IQ. She will always remember winning against National Cathedral School on senior night when she played with a cast on her broken hand!

As any Holton athlete can attest, beating an athletic rival is memorable. Kendall’s favorite memory on the soccer field is upsetting Visitation in the ISL AA tournament two years in a row. She adds, “It never gets old.” She continues, ”Holton athletics has taught me more than just how to balance busy academic and athletic schedules. It has taught me the value of getting involved with the larger athletic community - making friends with teammates in other grades, going to cheer on other sports, and even using sports as a platform for other things, like our 3v3 tournament fundraiser for Grassroots Soccer.” Kendall looks forward to being a part of the student-athlete community at Johns Hopkins and being surrounded by people who, like her Holton friends and teammates, are always supporting each other while pushing each other to improve.

Being a part of a team, the competitiveness of the game, and challenging herself to work hard and get better all bring joy to Lilly, a basketball player. While at Holton, she has learned the value of teammates. “The more you are there for each other off the court, the better you play together on the court,” she says. She also has learned the importance of “finding the fun, even when working hard.” Her teammates at Occidental will welcome that outlook.

Charlotte, a tennis player, says that the more rewarding part of tennis is not the outcome of matches, but the everyday work she puts in to improve. Implementing the things she works on at practice in a match, and doing them well, brings her joy. She also has friends from around the country that she has met at tournaments during the 8+ years she has played tennis. She knows her college sports experience will be enhanced because of her time on the Holton Tennis Team. “In what was always an individual sport for me, I got the first glance at what it was like to play for something bigger than myself. I got to represent the school that I love and play alongside my peers as we watched each other grow and accomplish great things. I will bring this experience and leadership to my tennis experience at the University of Chicago.”

We are proud to recognize the efforts of these six students as they prepare to continue their athletic careers at the next level. However, we also want to give a shout out to all of the athletes who represent Holton during the sports seasons, all of their teammates, and our great coaches. It is a team effort!