Feeling the vibe: Staunton High School athletes celebrate college commitments

STAUNTON — Running and jumping and throwing. Aurora Schwaner figures if she's going to compete in track and field at the college level she might as well do it all.

The Staunton High School senior was one of seven who celebrated their college commitments Thursday afternoon in the Paul Hatcher Gym. Schwaner was the only one of the seven headed to a Division I school, William & Mary, where she'll participate in the heptathlon.

The sport consists of seven events — 100 hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200-meter run, long jump, javelin throw and 800-meter run — split into two days. This week Schwaner finished top 10 in the state in the long jump (3rd), 300 (4th), and triple jump (10th).

"I've done a lot of sprinting and jumping in high school," she said. "I'm really excited."

Since she was a sophomore Schwaner knew she wanted to run track and field in college. It was a year later she began the official process of visiting schools, slowly narrowing her choices. This past summer she found her home after high school when visiting William & Mary.

"The campus was beautiful," she said of the Williamsburg school. "I met the coach and I really liked him. It just had a good vibe."

She also met a lot of the members of the college team and formed an immediate bond with them, saying they're friends.

"I definitely made the right decision," Schwaner said.

Staunton's quarterback, Walker Darby, will continue playing football in college. He chose Averett University, a D3 school in Danville. He said the starting quarterback will be a fifth-year senior, so there is a chance to learn for a season and then step in and play for the Cougars.

"I really liked the vibe down there," Darby said. "It's far enough away (from home) but not too far. And it has a lot of things besides football to offer."

He is intrigued with the aviation program the school offers, but also said there's a good business school.

Darby's football teammate Agustin Miguel is headed to D3 Bridgewater to kick for the Eagles. A soccer player before playing football, he began kicking for Staunton as a freshman.

"It's been a journey since then," Miguel said. "It's such fun."

As a sophomore, Miguel broke his plant leg making a tackle. He returned as a junior where he had a good season kicking a 40-yard field goal in a game, but he feels as though that injury slowed his progress and believes Bridgewater will help him grow in the kicking game.

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Staunton has a pair of soccer players heading to the next level. Emma Shuey will play at Virginia Wesleyan, which played in the NCAA D3 national semifinals this past December; and Alex Stell will play at Christopher Newport.

"I am super excited," said Shuey about the Virginia Beach school. "I feel beyond blessed to be able to be part of the program at Virginia Wesleyan. They have an amazing team."

Talking to her travel coaches at Skyline Elite during a showcase in California last summer helped Shuey realize it was time to make the commitment.

"I knew I had the potential to play in college if that was a choice I wanted to make," she said. "So I am really excited."

Stell missed his fall season with an ankle injury, allowing him more time to focus on a college choice. He eventually decided on the Newport News D3 school. He'll start out playing center forward for the Captains.

"CNU was the best fit for me," he said. "I love the campus and it's a good level of soccer."

He'll join Kyle Stenzel, a former soccer player at Staunton. He said Stenzel was a big factor in helping Stell land at Christopher Newport.

"It's been a great experience," Stell said. "I'm looking forward to the next step."

Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, will be the home for Job Harrell the next two years.

"I've always loved playing baseball," Harrell said. "There's been times when I didn't want to play in college and times I did."

A collapsed lung last May sidelined Harrell all summer. Being out of the sport showed him how much he loved it.

"The best way to keep on playing was to go to a junior college and get two years to develop," he said. "Then transfer to bigger things hopefully."

The final athlete celebrating their college choice Thursday was Kriston Parr, who will actually take part in a sport not offered at Staunton — equestrian. The senior is heading to the University of Lynchburg.

Parr has been riding for about 10 years. Her stepmom is an equestrian coach at Washington and Lee and has been coaching Parr as well. She said Lynchburg is a program on the rise and the school recently built their own riding facility, which is exciting.

"It's like a team sport, with me and my horse and the connection we make," she said.

Her athletic director didn't even know until recently she was going to compete in college. Not a lot of people do know about that side of her.

"It's kind of like a little secret I have," Parr said. "My horse girl thing."

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— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Feeling the vibe: Staunton athletes celebrate college commitments