Northeast students sign with college athletics
May 3—Northeast Lauderdale High School students and staff celebrated Friday as two graduating seniors signed to continue their athletic and academic careers at the collegiate level.
Baseball player Chance Guisgond will head to Knoxville, Tennessee, after graduation to attend BC Athletics, a post graduate baseball program. The move, he said, affords him the opportunity to keep playing baseball while also growing his skills.
"I get to continue playing the game I've grown up with and just loved ever since I started playing," he said.
To the younger teammates he leaves behind Guisgond said his advice is just keep working.
"Just love the game," he said. "It'll treat you right if you love it and you treat it right yourself."
Baseball coach Brock McKnight said Guisgond is a talented athlete and a leader among his peers.
"He's going to do great things," he said. "We're excited to see him succeed not only in life but also in baseball. We'll see what the next step holds for him."
Ja'eda Sneed, a member of the cheer squad, will trade the Trojans for Tigers this fall as she heads to Jackson State University.
"I'm so excited," she said. "I've been wanting to go to JSU for the longest time, and now it can finally happen.
Sneed said JSU has long been in her sights both for its cheer team and its psychology program, which is what she plans to major in. The band, of course, is also a plus.
"I love the Sonic Boom," she said.
Sneed said her advice to younger students is to follow their dreams and not allow others to dictate what they do.
"Keep doing you," she said. "Don't let anybody get in your way and just keep doing what you have to do."
Cheer coach Jennifer Shultz said Sneed has spent her last season with the Trojans as a co-captain leading her team. Sneed, she said, will go far at JSU.
"I know she's going to do great things at Jackson State, and I'm super excited to see what she does this year," she said.
Contact Thomas Howard at thoward@themeridianstar.com
