Rock Hill High School signing day: Ten Bearcats announce collegiate plans
It was an emotional time at Rock Hill High School’s final signing day of the school year.
The Bearcats had 10 athletes sign their national letters of intent on Wednesday morning, and it was a bittersweet moment for coaches acknowledging the lives and accomplishments of the seniors.
One of those signees was girls’ basketball player De’Ashaj Crawford, who signed to Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte.
While giving a speech about her impact on the team, Rock Hill girls’ basketball coach Kenny Orr couldn’t hold back his tears.
“It feels good knowing that I have a whole lot of support and an extreme support system,” Crawford said. “Just being able to have fun and work hard and see that I made a big difference in high school, it feels good.”
Another signee was boys’ volleyball player and Randolph College signee Dante Reid
Rock Hill began its boys’ volleyball program this past August, and Reid was one of several first-time players on the team. Virginia’s Randolph College also started its men’s volleyball program this past fall.
The outside hitter/middle blocker said he’s playing club volleyball to continue to improve before he heads up to Lynchburg in a few months.
“It feels great (to sign to Randolph),” Reid said. “I was really excited. I couldn’t stop smiling ear-to-ear for a little while, but I had to lock in because I had to get to work and start working harder.”
“Coach (Jordan) Leandro, the way he was talking to me, I could tell he was a coach that was outgoing, kind of just like me. He wanted to work hard, wanted what’s best for me and drew me towards them a little bit. That was my school of choice, so anyway, I was going to go there completely.”
Bearcats cheerleader Kendra Bryan committed to Limestone University in Gaffney to join its acro-tumbling program.
Bryan heard about the program after attending a cheer camp at Limestone, and the athletics department reached out to her to gauge her interest.
“It’s kind of like gymnastics and cheer combined, but it’s more of a competitive side of gymnastics,” Bryan said. “It’s just a very big team-bonding sport.”
“It’s both (team-based and individual competition). There’s a section where you do it together, and then there’s another section where it’s individual tumbling passes. Each girl on the team has their own specific spot, and you’ll know during the season, which spot you fill in the best.”
Here is a list of the other signees from Wednesday morning:
Prince Brockington: High Point, track and field
Alexandra Cunningham: USC Union, softball
Daniel Range: Case Western Reserve, football
Jayden Surratt: Coker College, baseball
Travis Wesley: Limestone, football
Nicolas Roy: Erskine College, track and field
Malachi Thomas: Limestone, lacrosse and wrestling
