Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania), May 5, 2005, Thursday

Copyright 2005 The Morning Call, Inc.
Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania)

May 5, 2005 Thursday
FIFTH EDITION

SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. C3

HEADLINE: Emmaus student-athletes make their college choices

BYLINE: By Beth Hudson Of The Morning Call

BODY:
A lifelong soccer player, Amanda Lucik didn't join the Emmaus High School field hockey team until her senior year.
Despite Lucik's late entry into the sport, college programs took an interest. Now she's headed to Central Michigan of the Mid-American Conference to play midfielder -- as in, field hockey midfielder -- for the Chippewas.
"It surprised me, the opportunity I was given," Lucik said. "Six different Division I schools recruited me. The facilities were a big thing. I left there saying, "This is the school for me."'
That was a recurring sentiment Wednesday at Emmaus, where 10 student-athletes, plus their parents and coaches, participated in the school's spring signing day.
Five of the Green Hornets will compete at the Division I level, while two are headed to Division I-AA schools and three to Division II. Twelve other Emmaus student-athletes had announced their college choices earlier in the year.
Bryan Reiss, Emmaus' first state wrestling champion, made his decision shortly after the season ended. Reiss, who won the Class 3A 275-pound gold medal in Hershey and lost only one match all year, will wrestle at the University of Maryland.
In addition to Reiss and Lucik, three members of the Emmaus track and field team announced plans to compete for Division I schools.
Sam Luff, already a PIAA silver medalist in cross country and track, will run both sports at Cornell, where he also plans to major in industrial and labor relations.
"I think in cross country, I'll definitely be in the top seven [on the varsity] -- at least, I'd hope so," Luff said. "They're actually much better in track than cross country.... I think I'll probably run the 5K in track."
Luff is coming off a second-place finish in the 3,000-meter run at last week's Penn Relays and is hoping to finish his high school career with a state championship in Shippensburg.
Adam Leibensperger, one of the Lehigh Valley Conference's best hurdlers, has committed to the University of Akron (another MAC school), and runner Kathy Parker will attend Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
Leibensperger placed third in both the 110 and 300 hurdles Friday at the Allentown School District Invitational, and Parker won the girls' 400 at that event.
Star soccer forward Jen Dervarics started looking at her school of choice -- Bucknell -- a couple of years ago. She wants to major in mathematics and was impressed with Bucknell's academic program.
"It came down to Pittsburgh and Bucknell," she said. "I love the school [Pittsburgh], but I didn't want to be that far from home. I'm hoping to have an impact [on the soccer team] right away. I'm just going to work hard and, hopefully, I'll get my chance."
Swimmer Billy Waldron also chose a Patriot League school -- Lafayette. He competes in the 200 freestyle and 200 individual medley and plans to double major in psychology and economics/business.
"I made my decision at the end of the summer and applied early," he said. "That was the one school where I really felt comfortable. I knew the academics were excellent, and the swimming fell into place."
Fellow swimmer Amanda Foltz, who specializes in butterfly and freestyle sprints, will compete at Shippensburg University. Two other Emmaus athletes, Nate Gilbert and Kate Higgins, also chose PSAC schools.
Gilbert, who currently has the state's best effort in the triple jump, is headed to Kutztown. Higgins, who runs both cross country and track, will go to Millersville.