[ot-caption title=”Four members of the Class of 2015 committed to play at the collegiate level this past week. (via Christine Dardet)” url=”https://pcpawprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/signing.jpg”]

Five student-athletes officially signed to play collegiate athletics last Wednesday at the Fall Signing Ceremony in the ICI. Among these athletes were Allie Gershman (University of Southern California, Lacrosse), Tyla Martin (University of Florida, Swimming), Griffin Conine (Duke University, Baseball), Zack Kone (Duke University, Baseball), and Carolyn Chaney (University of Miami, Diving). The ceremony was led by President Dr. Dana Markham and Athletic Director Jeff Johnson, and featured several key speakers, including Assistant Athletic Director and Girls’ Lacrosse Program Head Eileen Pliske and Assistant Upper School Head Glen Pierson.

Allie Gershman, who committed to USC for lacrosse, has been determined to be a Division I athlete since Coach Pliske talked her into playing lacrosse her freshman year. As a freshman, she played an integral part in the varsity starting lineup, helping the Panthers advance deep in the regional playoffs. After her junior season, Gershman won the All-American award for her outstanding achievement in lacrosse. Soon after, USC showed great interest in her as a potential student athlete and offered her a spot on their lacrosse team.

Griffin Conine, a baseball commit to Duke University, has undergone a huge transformation since his freshman year, and is still continuing to get better. Hours and hours of hard strength training and batting practice led him to be the statistical leader on the varsity baseball team his junior year, with a batting average of .486. His leadership on the Panther baseball team both on and off the field led to Duke University having a newfound interest in recruiting Conine to their baseball team. As Coach Pierson had said, “Griffin Conine had grown to be a force to be reckoned with in just one short year.”

Zack Kone, who also committed to Duke University for Baseball made his “love of the game” known at a very young age. Playing at the varsity level since 8th grade, Kone was able to keep his passion strong and landed a commitment with Duke when he was just a sophomore. Although he injured his shoulder during his junior year, Kone has been training very hard so he can return and represent the panthers in his last year of high school baseball.

Carolyn Chaney, a former gymnast and dancer, decided to swap the beam and the leotard for a swimsuit and a diving board when she was just twelve years old. Since switching to diving, Chaney has won many accolades such as being a defending State Champion and being in contention for a U.S. diving team spot at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. Then, in an instant, Chaney’s diving career reached a major setback when her shoulder was injured during the summer of her junior year. Chaney persevered and worked hard to nurse it back to health, and that, along with her diving scores and gymnastic background landed her a spot on University of Miami’s diving team, the top diving program in the nation.

Tyla Martin is one of the most versatile swimmers out there. Her dual citizenship allowed her to represent Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean Island Junior Swimming Championships last summer and take home the gold in the 200 meter IM and 100 meter fly. She also played great roles on the Pine Crest swimming team, earning All- county first team recognition in the Sun-Sentinel and getting 5th in the state in the 100 meter fly and 7th in the 200 meter IM. After receiving many offers from different schools, Tyla committed to the University of Florida in September, joining Pine Crest alumni Thomas Veale ’11.

Type One wishes all of the signees the best of luck in their collegiate athletic endeavours.