West Ranch gave a proper sendoff to 11 of its senior athletes on Thursday at the school’s spring signing day.
Wildcats from cheer, baseball, lacrosse and football signed their letters of intent to continue their athletic careers at the next level.
West Ranch cheer was well represented with four cheerleaders signing their letters. Elle Brown committed to Tulane, Tenley Romberger will continue to compete at Vanguard, and both Emma Hamilton as well as Sydney Berman both signed their letter of intents to cheer at San Diego State.
Cats baseball also showcased four of its best, and will send the group off in dynamic duos. Seniors Bret Potter and Shane Buchbinder will head to Lewis & Clark College, while Ryan Shalkevich and Matthew Lloyd will head to the Master’s University.
Lloyd has had his collegiate plans mapped out for years and now will see his hard work come to fruition as he joins the Mustangs next season.
“I’ve kind of always known,” Lloyd said. “It was just put in front of me and pretty much 100% in my mind, I knew I wanted to go there once it was set in motion before me.”
Lloyd has attended baseball camps at Master’s throughout his life and now finally gets to take the field as a Mustang in 2024. He’ll suit up for Master’s alongside Shalkevich as well as other members of Lloyd’s baseball family.
“I already feel like I have some people in my family there,” Lloyd said. “I know a few other commits that I’ve been talking to that aren’t there yet, but we will play together next year so it’s great.”
The four Wildcats were the only members of signing day still in season as the baseball team is battling in the Division 2 playoffs. Lloyd and the Wildcats will head to South Hills on Friday as the team hopes to enter collegiate play with a CIF ring.
West Ranch girls’ lacrosse sent off senior Kaitlyn Catalano as the senior heads east to Siena Heights University in Michigan. Catalano was hoping to stay local and even turned down an offer from her original dream school to attend Siena Heights.
“It was definitely always one of my top choices, but I was really adamant about staying in California until I actually visited the campus,” Catalano said. “I met the coach and the players and experienced the school. That just really sold it for me because like, even the coach made me feel so much more at home even on the opposite side of the country. I really loved the entire team. It really came down to that I picked that over my dream school, Occidental.”
Catalano will depart from West Ranch as a league champ and as an integral part of the 2023 team that reached the CIF Division 2 quarterfinals.
Seniors Tyler Scott and Griffin Nibarger from West Ranch football also signed their letters. Scott a running back, will head to St. Vincent College while Nibarger, a defensive end, is off to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
Scott led the Wildcats backfield with 71.2 yards per game while also scoring six TDs in his five games with the team. Nibarger was a force off the edge and finished the season with six sacks.
The seniors were announced by co-athletic director Anne Konrad, who will send off another decorated senior class into the collegiate sports world.
“West Ranch High School is honored to congratulate 11 student-athletes at our Spring 2023 Athletic Scholarship Signing Day,” Konrad wrote in an email. “These athletes have demonstrated the utmost in the West Ranch High School motto of relationships, rigor and relevance. Each of these athletes has played like a champion and reached their goals. We wish them all the best as they pursue their athletic careers beyond high school.”
