Manns signs to play basketball at SUNY Old Westbury
May 6—Perhaps Leiloni Manns was destined to play basketball.
"I was in kindergarten, so probably 6 (when she started)," she said. "I was tall, so they said, 'You need to play basketball.' and then all of my family's always been good at sports, so it's kind of a family thing."
From uncle Nate to cousin Cam, Leiloni Manns will become the latest in the family to play sports at the college level. She signed her letter of intent to play basketball at NCAA Division III SUNY Old Westbury, where she plans to major in physical therapy.
The school is located in Old Westbury, N.Y., 8 1/2 hours away from Beckley.
"I kind of wanted to get away from Beckley, and this is a lot farther from Beckley, but it's good," Manns said. "I think it will be a good change."
Manns said she also drew interest from schools in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
"But after talking to the coaches, I decided this was the place I wanted to go," said Manns, a senior center. "The environment, the campus was really nice, and the recruiter who put me onto the coaches was really nice and made me feel like I was part of the family before I was even part of the team. The coaches were nice and wanted me to have fun."
"It was a great experience with my teammates, playing games, with all the rivalries and everything," she said.
Manns also throws shot put and discus for the track and field team. She is among the top 10 in the state in the discus with a toss of 105 feet, 9 inches.
